The Guardian
by 500NightsOfHolmes
Summary: With the apocalypse raging on, Beth and Daryl have to stick by each other's side in order to survive. Daryl passes a helping hand who decides to move things along. Daryl and Beth have to put their differences aside and realize what they've gotten themselves into. Pure Bethyl developing fluff! Rated T for safety. Please R&R xx
1. Chapter 1

(AN/ I do not own The Walking Dead nor any of the characters. I do own my OC. All Ideas and opinions are my own! Read and Review!x)

Chapter One  
>Needlework<p>

Day three of running from flames. Day three of hiking and walking and jogging and sprinting. Day three of having nothing. Having no-one. Beth was hungry and Daryl was tired. There was nothing they hadn't tried; snares, cages, arrows. Everything. And they still went hungry. What they did have was normally halved but when Daryl heard Beth's stomach rumble after she had eaten and went to settle for sleep, Daryl would hand his half over and take watch. They needed one person with a full stomach for a clear way of thinking. That was Daryl's theory any way.  
>Along the winding road they had found themselves on on the fourth day. The sun was cold but around them was bright. Daryl led in front with his bow gaining more weight with each step he took. Beth dragged her feet behind with what little equipment they had. Her mind normally wandered on these long hauls but today in particular, Beth was on a mission. A mission for food and for shelter. They walked right over the horizon and then some; both of them looking for a sanctuary for the night. They passed barely any walkers on their travels and Daryl was thankful. He didn't think he had the energy for any violence. When Beth stopped walking behind him, Daryl turned,<br>"'t you doin'?"  
>She was silent and was looking into the trees, picking out something.<br>"I- I think that's a vegetable patch..." Her voice trailed and her legs carried her off towards the opening in the trees. Daryl rolled his eyes and followed behind, readying his bow just in case. Beth fought against branches and leaves before collapsing to her knees at the tiny wooden fence which was in a square shape. Another patch neighboured it but it was rotten and practically fertilizer. They had been left too long.  
>There were trodden leafy tops in the healthy patch but they just didn't care. A smile crept across Daryl's lips and excitedly, he moved past her,<br>"Go'n see if there's a house!"  
>She swallowed hard and dropped the small sack of equipment. The top was unclipped and things were moved around for the vegetables. She pulled up carrots and potatoes from one strip and then celery and two grown turnips from another. When the sack was filled, Beth fought to hack at the stem of a small but luminesent pumpkin. She took it into her arms, knife still in hand. Of the six strips of vegetables, two were cleared and the others were left to grow. The sack and her arms were now heavy from all of the vegetables harvested in a rush.<br>"Daryl?!" Beth hissed out when he was nowhere to be seen. She hung like aged meat waiting for him to come back. In due time, he did, his smile brighter than ever.  
>"A house. Jus' up this hill here. C'mon, girl!" Daryl hadn't been like this until before the turn. Estatic was the word that crept into Beth's mind. Like a kid at Christmas time.<p>

Daryl led the way again, bow over his shoulder and knife now at his side. Beth lugged the vegetables behind him with a small smile on her face. Finally, for the first time in what felt like forever; they would have beds to sleep in. Duvets to cover them.  
>Everything was short lived when groaning came out from around them. Like moths to a flame; they were surrounded. This time, they had that energy. To stab and to tear and to pummel to the ground. By God, the energy was there. Leaping out of them like tigers onto prey. This was <em>their<em> territory now and _nothing_, not even walkers were taking it away.

They were dragged into a pile not far from the small house and left to rot and burn by a fire that Beth excitedly made from dry leaves and her reading glasses. Afterward, she made her way up the small steps to the front porch where Daryl had already opened the door. There were no noises from inside despite his banging and stomping. Beth grinned at him with her arm cradling the pumpkin and the sack of vegetables straining on her shoulders. He gestured for her to go first with a shaky hand and warm smile.  
>Inside was warm and loving. Cosy and quiet. It was aged but very well kept. Tidy and collected everything was. Pictures hung above a small fireplace in the front hall and a small set of stairs lead right up to the bedrooms from the second you walked in. Beth turned to her left where a quaint living area rested. Plush fabric armchairs and a grey fabric setee. There was a rug in front of a television between the furniature which had barely been trodden on. Behind the sofa was a dainty step which went to a miniature study with a computer and a desk lamp. She looked back to Daryl who was on the other side of the house where the kitchen and pantry was. He stepped into the hall with his crossbow in front of him,<br>"Guy 'nd his old lady. Dead." he breathed out and Beth took in the breath. Daryl gestured for the door, "'ll take 'em out, bury 'em in the yard. 'ts only right." Beth nodded and opened up the front door for him. She sat on the bottom step with the sack of vegetables beside her as Daryl carried each body out and placed them by the steps to the house. An elderly couple. The woman with an apron and the man with a moustache and age spots. Beth thought to herself how terrified they must have been, in this house, so isolated and alone and all of a sudden; completely surrounded by volatile groaners. She swallowed harder and harder with every hit to the soil Daryl made with the shovel.

From outside, when Daryl stopped for breath, he glanced to Beth at the bottom of the stairs. Her knees at her chest and her head facing towards the kitchen. He knew how delicate a soul Beth was. How much this must have gotten to her. He called out to her,  
>"Hey! You 'kay?" thoughts of Hershel filling his mind the more he looked at her.<br>Beth looked up with her big blue eyes, the biggest blue eyes Daryl had ever seen, and a flat smile. She nodded. Daryl gulped a little before getting back to digging. The next time he looked up to her, she was gone.

The front door slammed shut and locked behind him. Beth, now in the kitchen preparing the vegetables, jumped before turning to the other counter. The pumpkin sat pride of place on the empty dining table. He strutted in like he hadn't just buried an old couple. The dirt on his face glimmered with sweat and the exhaustion showed in his eyes. Beth sympathised with him through their eye contact as he spoke;  
>"Seen generators out back. New 'uns. Seen uh water tank not far up 'uh road too" He placed down his bandana on the pale blue counter top and readied his cross bow, " 'll check the bedrooms. 'll start 'em generators up then go look f'r some squirr'ls f'r yuh." With that he was gone. She didn't have the time to tell him to rest. To recharge. Like a washing machine, Beth's stomach jolted with realisation.<br>Despite being surrounded by the perfect home with full reinforcements on windows and doors and a pantry full of kept goods, Beth was hollow and cold.  
>There was a rumble of a single generator from out back and a quick whistle of a tap. <em>Must be the water <em>She thought and turned to the sink where she was peeling the vegetables. There were tinkles on the other generators from the knife that Daryl was clutching. It echoed around Beth's head. _They must be solar _Beth hummed, _Did they know this was going to happen or were they just eco-friendly?_ What she did know was that they would have enough power for as long as they chose to stay with the seemingly new power.

x x x

As the sun slowly fell, Beth chopped and rinsed vegetables. A pot with slowly warming water was on the hob full of salt and some pepper she found lying in cupboards. In her own world, humming along to a song from the deep recesses of her mind, Beth doted around as the water came to a boil. Peeking in cupboards and looking through drawers for anything that she and Daryl might find useful. That's when it happened. A shot rang out through the surrounding woods and Beth darted for the back door, vegetable knife quickly taken into hand. "Shit!" She huffed and started to go towards where the noise came from. She left a trail, dragging the toe of her boot behind her as she ran. The closer she came, the more scuffling and shouting was heard. She leaned by a tree and a hand came over her mouth. Sticky and warm. Like blood. But a sudden comfort took over.  
>"Beth, what yuh doin' out here?" Daryl whispered and held her close. He released his hand and she huffed again,<br>"I heard a shot! Didn't you?!"  
>"Yeuh! It was aimed at me. Skimmed ma arm just there," He pointed to his left bicep which dribbled blood and tree bark, "Some frat pricks want mah damn squirr'ls!" Darly was quiet and stealthy, heading out from the tree trunk to pick up the knife he had dropped. Everything was quiet so he went. Bending down to pick up the knife, Beth breathed a small sigh of relief until a gun clicked and everything went still. Her arm was taken harshly in a broad hand whilst Darly had a revolver pressed to his temple.<br>"Brad, you didn't mention her!" The man who held onto Beth was excited and almost shouted at the man with the gun to Daryl's head, "Hey, lady. Wha'tyou doin' out here all 'lone? Hmm?" His voice was now predatory. The man looked Beth up and down as they walked slowly. The intent oozed from every pore of his body and Beth was grey with fear. Daryl's stomach soared with fire. It burned within him; hot, knowing he couldn't grab her away from the slimy mongrel and protect her.  
>"Hey, shut up, alright?!" He spat back, "Damn. Just a girl, Todd!"<br>Daryl started to straighten up and Beth was walked over to him. Darly took Beth's forearm into his hand and the gun remained to point at his head. His belt of squirrels was fumbled with and they dropped to the leafy ground with a shlump. Another man appeared from the dense trees. He seemed calmer and less violent than his minions. Beth stepped slightly behind Daryl and his grip tightened, almost cutting off the circulation to her hand.  
>"Brad, put the gun down." The guy smiled and stretched his arms behind his back, holding them there, "We don't want any trouble," he said, advancing over towards Daryl slowly, "You know yourself how tough it is trying to catch things out here," Again, he moved closer until he was right under Daryls nose, "would you at least <em>half<em> them with us, please?"  
>Daryl's eyes turned to slits and he looked at the two guys beside him who were giddy. The squirrels were already over one of their shoulders. Daryl sighed and moved to turn his head back when he felt a sharp sting in his neck. Beth gasped and he felt her muscles contract as she pulled from him and stabbed the man in the head. Coursing through his blood was an icy concotion. He felt like his veins were freezing in place as Beth was staring deeply at the two quivvering men before them. Slowly, with the ice in his veins now melting to a pleasurable heat, Daryl collapsed beside a tree and Beth had scared off the other two men with just a small step towards them. The squirrels had been dropped. Beth threw them over her shoulder and turned to Daryl. He groaned, face down in the leaves.<p> 


	2. A Day in the Stables

_**(AN/ Thank you for all of the followings and favourites! It really means a lot to me! Please read and review!xx)**_

Chapter Two  
>A Day in the Stables<p>

"Daryl! Hey, c'mon! Get up!" Beth frantically tried her best to pull him up but he was gone. His legs were liquid and his mind too. Daryl groaned and blubbed his mouth like a fish needing water. Beth managed with all the strength in her body to get his heavy, injured arm over her shoulder. She could only drag him from there.  
>"'M FINE! C'N DO IT M'SELF!" He lolled his head around and Beth grunted with every step trying to find the trail her boot made. As Daryl mumbled louder, her patience with him started to strain.<br>"Daryl, shut your ass! You're gonna attract more walkers!" She hissed down to him. There was only silence for an answer. Daryl was asleep.  
>In time, as it was almost pitch dark, they reached home. Everything was as it was when she left it. When Daryl was settled on the sofa in the sitting room, Beth checked every bedroom at least twice before double checking the locked doors and windows. They were safe for the night. Beth let Daryl come to in his own time. She started a small fire in the fireplace and lit a few candles in the kitchen so she could see what she was doing.<p>

x x x

Time ticked on and eventually, when the Grandfather clock struck eight o'clock weakly, Daryl Dixon awoke. On his back with a swimming headache and a throbbing bicep, covered in a lavish woolen throw. The house was drowned in the strong stench of vegetables and coal.  
>Fighting, he managed to push himself up and wander to the front hall,<br>"Beth?!" He called. There wasn't an answer. Daryl walked to the empty kitchen and took a place beside the stove where a large pot bubbled contentedly. He stuck his pink finger into it and immediately put it into his mouth. Proper food. "Beth?!" Daryl hollered again. there was a reply from the bathroom which was at the very top of the stairs.  
>"I'm in here! Come up!"<br>Daryl furrowed his brows and chewed at his pinky, "Y' sure?! I don't wanna if y're... 'ndecent!"  
>"Daryl, I'm fine" Beth laughed down to him and he made his way to the staircase. The bathroom door was ajar slightly. The closer he got to the bathroom door which now appeared to glow amber, he could smell roses. Fresh roses and citrus.<br>"Beth?" queried Daryl when he finally got to the door. He pushed it gently with his knuckles and seen her sitting on the edge of a steaming bath, surrounded by candles. "The hell's this?" He asked.  
>Beth came to his side after turning the water off and smiled up at him brightly. He looked at the bath with an almost shocked expression, "Well, when I had bad days at school or a bad day in the stables, Maggie would always do this for me. It would help me relax and help me breathe a bit easier..." Beth spoke as she studied Daryl's deep graze from the bullet. He stood in a warp. "I wanted to do this for you as a thank you. For keeping me alive and feeding me and keeping me warm and teaching me things and making me laugh when I thought I couldn't laugh."<br>Daryl felt her give him a gentle hug and he patted her shoulder, completely blind sided by her strong gesture, "It was the best I could do with what we got and I thought that could do with some unwindin' and relaxin'". Daryl slightly nodded and gulped. She remained at his side for a few moments before pushing away to hand him a plush white towel and face cloth, "I'll leave you to it. Just drop your clothes at the door and I'll get 'em in the washer. Then there's a stew on boil for when you're done. 'Member and wash that" Beth looked at his graze.  
>Daryl accepted the towel and the cloth and placed them on top of the closed enamel toilet seat lid. Beth left him to it and the door latched closed behind her. He took the seat on the edge of the tub and took everything in. How warm everything felt. How secure he felt in this company he had been taking for granted. It was all short lived when he imaged what Merle would say. 'Damn pussies take baths, son!' 'Go dip in the damn creek, boy!' Daryl screwed his eyes up at these thoughts and put the bottom of his hands to his eyes. He huffed and sighed away all the bad thought he had. And then she appeared.<p>

Like it was yesterday. Sitting on top of the wicker hamper, her dress finely pressed and pure. Her boots polished to within an inch of their lives. It was Vivian. "Get in the damn bath, little brother!" She laughed and Daryl had to blink plenty of times before it would register. Merle's little sister, Daryl's big sister, right in front of him in the flesh. But not from this age. She was no older than Beth and held herself like a true woman. Daryl's mind tracked all the way back to his childhood. Viv was there; teaching him how to set traps and how to be a good boy to adults and know all his manners. Little Vivian with the long brown hair and the dark brown eyes and the olive skin. She was no more than four years older than him. But she knew everything there was to know. Vivian is partly the reason Daryl is the man he was right there in that bathroom. If it wasn't for her, Beth wouldn't be stewing the squirrels that Daryl had caught her. They wouldn't have reached the house if Daryl hadn't ventured further. Vivian pushed, but only pushed if she knew he could do it. Then Daryl's mind raced. It raced to the fire. The fire that killed his mother. Viv was there, almost a woman, pulling him from the smoke into the bushes when Merle was nowhere to be seen. Viv normally came into his head when Daryl was in dispair. When he feels like he can't carry on. Vivian guides him through the bad. "I hope you know what this girl is doin' for you," Viv smiled at him. Daryl was bewildered.  
>He had heard her voice in his head. He felt her presence sometimes but never thought for a second he would see her again. Daryl looked at her deeply then closed his eyes, picturing the day they last spent together before Merle took over and polluted his sister's teachings.<br>Their father was on a drunken rampage again in a beaten up old shack they had found in the middle of nowhere. Viv had placed Daryl into her bedroom closet and decided to face up to the vile man. Daryl peered through the wooden slats and watched as the man with a dirty white vest and grey slacks slapped his pure-as-snow sister around like he was swatting flies. She didn't yell because she never would've wanted to scare her brother so much that he would come running out the closet to help which he had done on several counts. But this time, when she had her hand to his chest, he just knew to trust her. Daryl watched her trying to fight back. "I'm taking Daryl to grandma's and there's not a damn thing you can do about it!" Viv spat and a revolver appeared from their fathers pocket, placed to her temple and the trigger was pulled. Daryl bit back the tears and chewed at his lip so hard he could taste blood. Vivian went silent. Daryl's walls crumbled.

She seen the hurt in her little brother's eyes, "Don't be upset... I'm still here." Vivian was gentle and leaned across to him on the edge of the tub. "I know you think about that day, Daryl."

"Don't" He was stubborn and chewed at his thumb nail, looking her straight in the eyes. She enjoyed his stubborness. It made her laugh knowing that he couldn't help it. Her eyes glittered in the light of all the candles and her hand sat on Daryl's knee,  
>"You have came so far with this girl, Daryl. And you can see she cares about your feelings. Heck, she drew you a damn bath because that's what she thinks makes people feel better."<br>"Hey! 't was a nice thought, right?!" Daryl darted at her. Vivian leaned back and crossed her arms,  
>"I didn't say it wasn't, Daryl. She's a pure and delicate woman who cares. Do not push her away like you have done before." Vivian had lost her smile and was now serious. Her arms unfolded and she pointed to the bathroom door, "You will put your clothes outside that door and then you will get your stanky ass in that tub. Am I clear?"<br>Daryl nodded and Vivian relaxed, "I didn't teach you to be a tin can with a swingin' rock for a heart, now did I?"  
>"I appreciate what she's doing, it's jus'... I'm not one for floatin' flowers in my tub..."<br>Viv laughed and Daryl started to undress. She turned to face the wall. He folded up his clothes and placed them just at the top of the staircase, his boots and socks on top of the pile, before locking the bathroom door and taking his place in the tub.  
>"You're not one for washin' either!" Viv turned back and smelled all the different acutriments in the room. Daryl gave her the look. The look of <em>'you gotta be fuckin' yankin' me'<em> he commonly gave to the likes of Glenn or Carl when they asked dumb questions.  
>She giggled to herself and went to the shelves above the hamper. High class bath salts. Expensive soaps and luxurious moisturizers. "You've hit a real gold-mine here, little bro, the both of y'all..." Vivian chuckled to herself and Daryl winced as his graze touched the water,<br>"Wouldn't be here 'f she di'nt see the patch, 's all". She rolled her eyes and sat back on the hamper,  
>"You have a great place, full of power and water. Stay here with her, Daryl. Be safe <em>here<em> with _her_," His sister pleaded. Daryl looked up at her and then down to the water, guilt filling his face. Viv sighed,  
>"Can't. She h's to find her sister 'nd I gotta find..." Daryl stopped and thought. Who did he have? Nobody really apart from Rick and Little Ass Kicker. He seen Vivian nodding in the corner of his eye and then sunk right down into the water with a deep breath. When he resurfaced, Vivian was gone. All that lingered was a cold air in her wake.<p>

x x x

Downstairs, Beth scavenged for bandages and rubbing alcohol. Anything at all she could find for Daryl's arm. That was when his footsteps slowly made their way down to the front hall. He followed his nose to the kitchen. Beth stopped dead in her tracks with a gauze and some bandages. Daryl adjusted the towel at his waist before heading toward the dining room table. "Feeling better?" She chimed and sat down beside him after grabbing one of the candles from the counter. Daryl nodded and raised his eyebrows slightly,  
>"Y'don't tell anybody!" Beth laughed a little and gestured for him to put his elbow up on the table. She worked in silence, Daryl's eyes always on her. As she worked, she could feel Daryl subtly sway back and forth. Beth tried to work fast so he could rest.<br>"It's still in there, in your blood, in your brain. I'll take watch tonight." Beth was final with her word as she wrapped his bicep in white bandage.  
>"Nah, nah, nah, nah. Nah, you get s'me sleep upstairs." Daryl said in a calm tone but his eyes were furious. They had walked for days and she had barely slept. It was the least he could do. Beth looked up to him with a matching look,<br>"You got shot today! You were drugged, goddamnit, you are gonna sleep tonight!"She was forceful and Daryl leaned back into the dining chair. He stretched his shoulder and brushed his fingers over the bandage as Beth went over to the stove and furiously stirred. Daryl used his forefinger and thumb to press his eyes and he took in the deepest breath.  
>"Alright." He huffed out and Beth turned with a glimmer in her eyes.<br>In a better mood, Beth plated up the squirrel stew and took it through to the living room where the small fire crackled.

They dug in like rabid animals, both even going back for seconds. Their night in together was quiet. That was until Beth went to take watch from one of the bedrooms which had a piano. She brought the stool over to the large window and perched with her legs crossed in the darkness, only a candle for company. Daryl was dotting around downstairs, double checking everything was secure despite Beth's reassurance. The stairway creaked with Daryl's steps. He pondered through one room, rummaging around in drawers and closets.  
>A short while had passed and he made his way down the hall to the room Beth was in. Dressed in checkered shorts and white tube socks, Daryl pushed the door open and took a step back, "'m sorry. Thought it w's empty"<br>"It's fine. It's the only room with a double. Take it. I'll go next door." Beth smiled and pushed herself up to put the piano stool back to it's original place. Daryl shook his head,  
>"Nah, stay. Play somethin'". He moved toward the piano and when Beth gingerly took a seat and raised the lid, he scouted over to the bed. As though he had forgotten about the scars that littered his back, Daryl coolly drew back a thick gingham blanket. Beth turned as though to say something but didn't bother, "What?" Daryl questioned in his low and husky tone before a large yawn came over him and he lay down. <em>What happened there? Who would do that to you?<em>  
>"I-I don't know what to play" She coyly muttered and rubbed at her eyes. Daryl had an arm behind his head and the bed throw was over him. He didn't care what she did anymore. Wether she played a melody or not. The fact was; they were together, alive, well fed and with plenty protection. His voice piped up which made Beth fully turn,<br>"J'st sleep then. W're locked up. Take a day off, damn!" He chuckled and Beth hung her head, scuffing her boots on the wooden floors. A smile was on her lips, big enough for Daryl to see under her hair and the shadows.  
>"Can't. I don't want to dirty the beds..." was all she said before going to the window and taking watch. Daryl eyed her for a short while in the dark. Her shadows. How lost she looked. Distant and uninterested. Everything was absorbed. Taken down to even the finest details. From the way she scratched her nose to the way her body moved with each breath. It soothed Daryl; comforted him just enough enough for him to fall into a deep sleep.<p> 


	3. Daryl's Clouds

Chapter Three  
>Daryl's Clouds<p>

For the first time in a long while, Daryl heard the birds twittering in the trees high above the house. The sun beat through the weak sheer drapes and struck his face. He shaded his eyes before pushing himself up in the bed. By God, it was the most comfortable sleep he had in years. The fluffy pillows and the thick blankets that surrounded him made him want to throw his body back down and sleep for months. But his eyes scanned the room he had shared with Beth. She was nowhere in sight. The bedroom door was closed over and his newly washed clothes hung on the back of the door. She was a busy bee when she wanted to be. Daryl uncovered his body from the blankets and stumbled over to his clothes which had a note pinned to the lapel of his vest.  
><em>Breakfastlunch is in the oven._  
><em>Fresh juice in the sink.<em>  
><em>Beth x<em>

Daryl was dressed and the note was now inside the pocket of his fresh smelling torn jeans. Daryl Dixon wasn't embarrassed to walk around in clothes that now smelled of sweetpea and lotus. It was something he reveled in as he made his way towards the stairway, leaving the mess of a bed behind him. His boots marked the newly mopped hallway and he breathed out a chuckle, "Damn workhorse!" He reached the bottom of the stairs before worrying about her absence. The front door was still locked and the windows were latched. Daryl's brows furrowed and he searched around for her. The sitting room was untouched from last night and her note remained true. Fresh croissants baked low in the oven and there was a jug of fresh orange juice in the sink surrounded by ice cold water. He looked to the dining table where the pumpkin remained but with a basket of fruit in front of it. Peaches and apples and various berry assortments. He leaned against the stove and crossed his arms, "Beth!" He hollered. There was no reply but there was a sweet melody brewing from the upstairs bathroom. Daryl made way for the stairs and then heard static. There was tuning and eventually it settled to a low-volume easy-listening channel. There was a damn radio. A damn radio that worked! Daryl took the stairs two at a time and knocked on the bathroom door gently. "You found a damn radio?!" He was excited but kept his face calm when she opened up the door slightly. Her head appeared, smug as ever,  
>"I did. When you were snoozin' the mornin' away! It was in a cupboard in the kitchen, why?" Beth smiled and her eyes glittered. Daryl noted the shower running and the steam growing and decided to step back,<br>"W' can talk after y'r shower... 'll be downstairs" He weakly smiled and made his way down to the kitchen,  
>"I'll change that gauze after you eat!" Beth called out to him. A smile pulled in the corner of Daryl's mouth and his stomach grumbled in a way different from any other grumble. It was light and pink, like clouds where bouncing from one side of his torso to another. He brushed it off to hunger. A very gentle hunger. Without thinking anymore on it, Daryl grabbed the nearest plate and switched off the oven before piling the fruit high.<p>

As Beth stepped into the shower with the radio buzzing around in the background, she sighed. Not a thank you for the food or the clothes. No notice of the mopping and the hoovered rugs. She was trying to make this place the best for both of them and it was only her that was noticing and appreciating. Beth was trying her hardest not to get upset by her efforts going unnoticed by the big lurk of a shadow that huffed around a crossbow and a stiff upper lip.  
>The hot water rushing over her softened the harsh dirt at the ends of her hair and parts of her skin. The bathroom did smell like flowers and fruit from Daryl's bath the night before but now with her body being washed of all the horror and impurities, it was more like raw sweat and effort that surrounded her. She grabbed the soap and lathered her whole body until she resembled a slim snowman then washed it all off. The water beneath her feet was murky with bubbles on top. Beth had tried her hardest to keep her anger about the ungrateful son of a bitch who sat in the kitchen eating the food she made for him without so much as a 'thanks, Beth' at the back of her mind. But it was so prominent, screaming to be heard by his unsuspecting ears. The shower was switched off and a towel was draped around her.<br>Heavy on her feet but sure not to slip, Beth darted downstairs and stood in the doorway of the kitchen. Daryl was mid-bite on a peach when he turned to her. The water dripped from her and wet footprints lay behind her. "What?" He asked in a husky tone and a laugh at the back of his throat. She was a sight. Ears red and arms hunched like she was ready to fight.  
>"You! If you think I am makin' your damn bed, you have another thing comin'! If you think I am washin' your clothes again, Dixon, I don't think so! If you think I'm gonna make you anymore damn stews, I don't fuckin' think so! I am not mopping up after your lazy ass to get a slap in the face afterwards! I'm not doin' it anymore, Daryl! You make your food, clean your clothes, run your own damn baths from now on!" Beth was furious and Daryl's eyes were wide, his mouth half-full with fruit skins and jaw ajar. What could he say to that?!<br>"Beth, I was gon' make my bed after y' change my dressin'..."  
>"Oh! And another thing! Do it yourself! I ain't doing your damn first-aid work anymore either!"<br>"Beth..." Daryl breathed and swallowed his fruit before setting the peach onto his plate and smiling at her,  
>"Why are you smilin'?! This isn't funny! I'm serious!" Beth spat at him, the rage building and building within her. The more she spoke, the more Daryl smiled and fought laughter<br>"Do you hear yourself?! Y're standin' in a damn towel shoutin'! That's funny!" Daryl now chuckled and Beth's anger ceased at the simple smile on his thin lips, "Y've not slept in days. Y're hungry 'nd tired!" Daryl was now making his way over to her and he looked her in the eyes. After-the-storm into turquoise. "Thank you, Beth, for doin' all those things for me" He pronounced each word fully so that she would have nothing to complain about later.  
>Beth hung her head and it was like she was crying. Daryl bit back his smile. Her arms came up and her hands covered her face. Daryl had no idea what to do but smile and pray she didn't see. But she took in deep breaths and this worried Daryl, so he put an arm around her bare and moist shoulders to comfort her. Kinda.<br>Beth threw her head back now with a wide smile and the lightest laughter which brought back Daryl's clouds. They were warmer now and felt like they were travelling up his stomach to his throat. "Okay!" She said through her laughing, "Okay! I-I'm sorry I shouted. Sorry. You're right. I'm just tired. I-I'll nap after dinner-" Beth looked at him and the smile was tearing her from ear to ear. Daryl shook his head,  
>"Nah, <em>we're<em> goin' to bed aft'r dinn'r. Because w're safe here now. I told you."  
>Beth pressed her lips together and sighed a deep sigh, her cold breath brushing over him.<p>

Before Daryl could absorb himself in her anymore, there was a crackle. A loud crackle from the radio in the bathroom as if it was tuning itself. Daryl floated past Beth and took to the stairs. She followed behind quietly. He held out his hand behind him to her collarbones to keep her back when they reached the top of the stairs. The crackling and the tuning slowly ground to a halt.  
>"<em>Ter...us. Term...us. Termi...us<em>" The words from the radio stuttered and choked. Beth furrowed her brows and tightened the towel that surrounded her. Daryl's light footing carried him towards the radio on top of the hamper where he picked it up and brought it out to the hall. "_Tho... who... urvive... Termin_.." The voice got clearer the more Daryl hand tuned it. Beth moved the antenna after Daryl moved his hands from the nodules. "_Terminus. A sanctuary for all. Those who arrive survive. Terminus. A sanctuary for all. Those who arrive survive_."  
>Beth looked up at Daryl who had squinted his eyes in thought. He brought in deep breaths as they listened to the repeated message. There was a glint of hope. A shimmer of drive. She couldn't admit that she shared his excitement. But maybe Maggie was there. Maybe Judith and Sasha and Tyreese. Maybe they were all there. Abruptly, Daryl tuned to her,<br>"W'll go in th' mornin'. They might be there." And that was it. Decided. There were no arguments between them about the quick decision.

From the moment that Beth was dried and dressed in her fresh clothes, they scavenged all over the house. Beth took downstairs and Daryl- upstairs and outside. Beth opened all cupboards and drawers in the kitchen with two bags on the dining table beside Daryl's unfinished brunch. A tall rucksack was for food and the smaller one for medical supplies and water. The taller rucksack was almost full with cans and packets. The smaller one was practically empty if not for a box of band-aids and two bottles of water which lay under the sink. Daryl bounded downstairs with a large duffle bag half full of ammunition and weaponry with two hip-flasks of Jack. It sat on a dining chair with a heavy thud. "What you find?" He queried as he dusted off his peach from earlier and used his free hand to rummage through the bag.  
>"Well, there's some cans of fruit and chilli. Some packets of space food and a box of band-aids. Used all the bandages on your graze..." Daryl nodded,<br>"J's gon' have to be careful, ain't ya?". Beth rolled off his dig at being clumsy and gestured to his arm with a faint smile,  
>"How is it? Want me to change it with what we got?" She asked. Daryl raised his arm and took a seat up on the blue counters. Beth worked as gentle as possible pulling the gauze away from his bicep. Her fingers were ice cold but they were soft and light, like feathers to his skin. He let her work, and whilst she did, Daryl took in everything. The concentration and the care she was taking. How that one wisp of electric blond hair fell past her forehead countless times and frustrated her. Beth was a <em>beautiful<em> girl, of course, there was no denying. Daryl often wondered how remarkable a task it must have been for God to piece together such beauty. The hard work showed in the glimmer of her turquoise eyes and white smile. But she was fragile, like porcelain yet strong enough to make Daryl's palms go damp.

Beth completed his arm with two band-aids crossed over together and a bandage to keep it all clean and dry. Daryl's skin was soft to Beth's surprise. Like velvet beneath her bony fingers. As she wound the bandage around him, she kept her eyebrows knitted to look full of concentration. Really, she was scared. Daryl had always reminded her of a lurking beast. It would go for so long being calm and together and then it would just snap out of nowhere and tear you to shreds. Daryl often set her on edge like that, scared that one wrong move cold make him flinch back in pain and withdraw further into himself than he already had done. It was the last thing Beth wanted to do to Daryl. Hurt him.

Time passed on as they readied themselves for their long travel the next morning. With a can of chilli from the backpack and some fruit in their bellies, they made their way upstairs to get a full night's sleep before the journey. Beth took the single room at one side of the hallway and Daryl had the middle room where he had slept before. The sky was pitch dark again and the clouds that covered them were a thick murky grey. Beth had her knife beside her in the bed and Daryl had his fully loaded crossbow on the floor beside him. "Try 'n rest as best 'you can. It's a long trip." Daryl warned through the open doors and the wall. Beth smiled to herself with a growing tint on her cheeks. She would rest fantastically knowing that he was in the room next door with his bow, ready to take down anybody that dare entered their abode. "Do you miss 'em?" Daryl huffed to her, his arm resting behind his head as he lay, relaxed on the comfy bed. Beth hummed in return which Daryl accepted as a 'yes'. Hell, he missed them too, "I miss Lil Asskicker the most!" He smiled a small smile which went hollow quickly when Beth replied with comfort,  
>"Just keep hope, Daryl... We'll see them soon. I promise..." A thick silence filled the spaces between their bedrooms and Beth fought back some tears over her missing family. She knew Daryl felt the same, but he was too manly to show it to her. He laughed around things to make her and himself feel better. The silence was slowly broken after a cough and sniff from Daryl's room,<br>"G'night, Greene." Daryl laughed, making himself comfortable under the duvet and the blankets.  
>"G'night, Dixon..." Beth said back to him with a bright smile in her voice, the tears drying at just the richness of his deep voice and blew out the small tea-light candle which was flickering by her bed.<p>

Rolling thunder clouds loomed over the quaint little house for hours, waiting, lurking before one single _CRACK_ through the sky. This was what woke Beth from her sleep. In a cold sweat, she sat up to be accompanied by the belting rain which hit the leaves on the ground and the windowsills. The thunder continued to brew in the sky and Beth was scared. Woken from a horrific nightmare into a dark, loud atmosphere. It was most frightening to her. She took the knife which lay beside her and wrapped herself in the light blanket which was draped over her duvet. Tottering quietly through to the next room, Beth yawned. Daryl was heavily sleeping. His breathing deep and laboured. She moved closer to the bed as gentle as she could. He didn't stir. "Daryl? 're you asleep?" Beth asked into the quiet. She knew he was. Daryl huffed, scratching his left ear before turning his head to the other side. He settled, bringing the duvet up closer to his face. His breathing continued. It was risky but Beth needed the comfort. With her own blanket surrounding her and her knife in her hand, she made her way onto the empty side of the bed, facing inwards to Daryl's side. Her head rested on the pillow near the very edge, some of her hair falling delicately onto Daryl's pillow. This was as close as she could get to comfort without the beast turning volatile towards her. Her eyes which were burning from exhaustion closed and a deep, thorough sleep took over Beth.

x x x

"'choo! 'choo! 'choo!" A high voice woke Daryl, his hand automatically directed towards the crossbow. A sniff followed and his eyes opened slowly. He stared at the dark ceiling before looking across the bed. Her body was there. His eyes further scanned. Beth was asleep beside him, her head buried into the blanket which covered her. She was holding herself together as tightly as possible with her shoulders just brushing Daryl's side. Her hair half-on and half-off his ribs. A thunder roll broke through the therapy of the rain and made Daryl look to the window. He knew that's why she was here. It was clear in the way she slept. Close, curled up, covered; hoping nothing from the skies would hurt her. But he knew it would never happen. Because _he _was there. _To get to her, they'll have to get through __**me**__ first- don't care if it's a damn snowflake or a lightning bolt_ He thought to himself. He used his left hand to adjust her blanket around her shoulders and brushed her hair gently back into place, his fingers lingering for a short while at the ends. Everything about her was gentle. From the ends of her hair down to the way her feet overlapped as she slept. Daryl had to look away before he picked at every detail that made her astonishing in his mind. His hand remained on her shoulder as he turned his head towards the dark window and drifted back into a deep sleep.

(AN/ I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was particularly tricky to write! R&R x)


	4. Dirt

Chapter 4  
>Dirt<p>

Thudding onto the softened mud, rain pelted down. Three days since they had left the haven and were on their own, finding Terminus where they thought Rick and the others would be. What got them from day to day was the idea of hopefully having a comfy bed again like back at the house. A comfy bed and a good hot shower. It pushed them from day to night but the longer time went on, the less they believed. The less they hoped.

It was early one morning, just as the sun had broken through the trees and the leaves that remained on their branches. Daryl handed his crossbow to her and taught her how to shoot. "Baby steps" Daryl gruffly said behind her. Her eyes narrowed down the length of the bow as she set her focus on a small bird. She tried to remember everything that Daryl had taught her over the past few days during fleeting conversations and comments. From behind her, he breathed quietly, "take your time." Beth felt her cheeks flush with pressure and her palms started to weep with sweat. In the blink of an eye, the arrow shot through the bird's neck, not distressing the chest muscle. Daryl put his hand on her shoulder before taking off to pick up the fallen bird.

That was when the growl came. Ten yards at the most from behind Beth. She turned, seeing nothing. Daryl grabbed the bird quickly and stood behind her, knife drawn from her holster which sat on her hip. "You c'n do it." He said and Beth took a small step forward, looking around the autumn colours that surrounded her. Each step got her closer to the groaning and the throaty moans. Through a clearing she stepped and her foot went down a small rabbit hole, a small snap was sounded. Immediately, Beth fell to the hard ground but the bow was aimed towards the walker. It moved closer to her and each bow missed by just inches. Daryl felt it right when the walker was centimetres from Beth to step in and drive the knife through its soft skull. Beth dropped the bow and leaned back to pull her foot gently from the hole. Daryl huffed over the walkers body and watched her recover herself, "Y' alrigh'?".

Beth whined and she got to her feet, using a nearby tree to help. "I'll be fine. Let's just keep movin'." She looked to him and he was too busy looking at her foot to notice. The concern in his eyes made Beth think as they walked. The concern stuck with her the whole time. Why would he be so distraught by my foot goin' down a damn rabbit hole? She thought, It's not like he wasted any time in helpin'... God, the pain hurts a lot. It's worse than I thought. I have to stop. I gotta. But, he wants to keep goin'. He could get so mad and walk off. I can't risk bein' left m'self. It's burnin'. Daryl we gotta, damn we gotta, we gotta-

"Daryl, can we stop a minute?" Her voice burst out of her. Daryl brushed away some branches and they stepped out into an open, wide, green plane. He was quiet, much to her surprise. She had expected half-sighs and grunts, maybe even some boot scuffs to the grass. But no. Daryl was calm, giving her a small nod. Beth put her back pack down and leaned beside a tall oak tree, clutching her ankle, rubbing it through her boot. Daryl took a quick scan of the area. Small white headstones were scattered across the land. They watched it together in awe. The serenity of it made them grateful. They didn't need anymore walker-drama to top off the day. The bright yellow sun flooded the headstones and Beth made her way to Daryl's side. "It's beautiful..."

He looked at her with strange fascination. Only Beth, pure, golden-hearted Beth would make a masterpiece out of a wreckage. "Look, a house..." Her voice was careful and she waited a few moments until Daryl looked away from her to look at him. He didn't have the excitement in his eyes like before. He knew what surrounded them and Beth thought that was maybe why he was reluctant.

Beth grabbed her pack swiftly before heading towards the small white house with a small limp. Daryl had noticed and out his hand on her shoulder to stop her in her tracks. "Hop on..." Daryl laughed and took off his pack,

"A piggy-back?" Beth questioned and went to stand behind him.

"A damn serious one!" Daryl said bluntly but with a smile in his voice. Beth nodded and put her hands onto his shoulders before giving a light jump. He let out a chuckle from nowhere as he adjusted her and they were like a jigsaw. Perfectly moulded to each other. Beth took a hand from his neck and he bent so she could pick up his pack. After that, he walked slowly with her on his back, laughing as he done so,

"What's funny?" She asked and held on a bit tighter as he avoided a little bug in the grass,

"Y're not as light as you look, 's all!". Beth gasped slightly and smiled, putting her head down onto his shoulders. They came to a headstone and Daryl slipped her off his back to look. 'Beloved Father' the stone read and Beth shuffled a little bit closer to Daryl. She thought of Hershel. Her dearest father. The greatest man she had known. Daryl thought of his own. A good-for-nothing son-of-a-bitch. It was at this moment, Daryl felt her hand slipping into his and gripping it tightly. He held back a flush of warmth and decided to look up and take in the moment as Beth thought quietly beside him.

She was there, watching them both, her hands in her jacket pockets and her heels digging into the dirt. The peach dress fluttered around her knees. Her long brown hair swished around with the gentle breeze and framed her face. Like their mother in her healthier years, Vivian stood gracefully with her eyes on her brother and his companion. Daryl looked at her directly and she looked at him, the gentlest look she could have given. The look of 'it's alright. It's all over now' and the look of 'it's going to get better, I promise, Little Brother'. Beth knew nothing of Vivian, barely knew anything about Merle if Daryl was honest. Vivian was the only thing Daryl could have to himself. His own secret refuge. His own brand of comfort.

Vivian started towards them both slowly and Daryl held onto Beth's hand, matching her strength. She sensed he was feeling something but his face was unreadable as he stared off. There was a dying fire behind his eyes and the slightest tweak at his thin pink lips but nothing else flagged up on her radar. Right now, in this moment as he stood beside her in the autumnal sunlight and a breeze enclosing them both, Daryl was just a man remembering what once was.

How he had just wanted to hug her. To let her know absolutely everything. But she already knew. She had been there. Followed every step and observed everything he done. Vivian was approaching the headstone and Daryl bit back the tears. It was something about Beth and Beth's hand in his and his ghost of a sister just an arms length away. Her hand lay across the headstone with a small smile on her lips to match his trembling one. She watched Beth's mind race and felt Daryl's eyes burn on her. A step closer she came and the more Daryl held Beth's small, soft hand.

A hatred burned inside of him, knowing there was no stone set for her. There was no white marble laid in her memory. Just a space in a dense forest. Viv read it in him. The guilt and the self-loathing that had built up for years. That had shadowed his mind every damn day. She took her hand from the stone and stood by him, placing her hand now up on her little brother's shoulder. At this moment, Daryl let a single tear slip from his eye. Vivian used her other hand to wipe it from his cheek. She was cold but extremely soft, like she had a constant haze about her. The smoothness of her against the roughness of his stubble made Daryl shiver all over. "It's alright. Let it go, baby brother." Her voice was like the finest China when she spoke. Daryl fought the words in his throat. That was it. She was dropping her hand from his face and his shoulder. She was leaving him again, "When everything is finished, and the dead no longer walk among you, bury your guilt with me..."

She was gone. It was the wisest thing she had said to him directly over the course of their journey. It was words that stuck, like superglue to skin.

Daryl's gasping sobs made Beth look up at him and they filled her with hurt and pain. Suddenly, all the shouting and the aggression from a few days previous didn't mean shit. They were like dust specks in the wind at this moment. She took her small pale hand and put it over their already joined hands. It only made Daryl cry more. Beth chose her words carefully, "Is it Merle?"

Daryl sucked air through his teeth and wiped his eyes before looking down at her.

"Don't matter. Just countin' blessin's."

x x x

"BETH!" The voice called after the car through the grumbles of the hungry dead. "DAMN IT! BETH!" It called again, feet slamming against the gravel road. Like slabs of concrete, his feet carried him as fast as they could into the dust trail of the beaten up black car. Sweat poured from him and tears fell the further he ran. How could he be so dumb to send her outside on her own, with a sprained ankle and barely any weapons? He cursed to himself as he ran. Faster than he ever had in his life before. What sick son of a bitch would steal a damn girl?! A damn dirty hick family looking for a kick! He couldn't think of Beth being used in such a way but the more he chased the car and the more he realized he was alone, the more the thoughts were apparent. Day turned to night twice-over. Two days of chasing a shadow, Daryl was broken. He threw down his cross bow and pummeled his fists into the hard brown bark of a nearby tall tree, cursing himself out as he done it. Everything had just built up inside of him and now was the time to let it out. He didn't care what attention it attracted. He had to fight these demons one way or another.

Throaty cries came from deep within his body. Each blow to the bark was harder than the last but it wasn't like he cared. Until now, Beth was just a tag-along. Someone he had to keep alive for someone else. But, Beth was his foundation. The drive and the power of the duo. Without her, he was muscle with no purpose. She always made the sun shine brighter and the grass smell sweeter. How could he let this happen?

Daryl slid his bloody fists down the bark slowly before turning and slumping by the bottom of the trunk. On his knees he wept, looking up to the passing clouds. His hands drove into the dirt and he started to pull it up in large fistfuls, whining into himself. In a burst of anger he looked at the blue sky, "I AIN'T DONE NOTHIN' WRONG! I AIN'T!" He didn't know whether he was shouting about Beth being kidnapped or his sister and all the injustice he had done her. Everything that were simple separate in his head now swirled into one big blurry mess. And his head hung low after that. "I ain't. I ain't..." Daryl's weeps became quieter and his knuckles started to throb with heat and pain. He brought them to his wet pink lips and breathed warmer air over them, soothing the stinging. He felt himself rock gently back and forth with every breath he took.

"You have gotta pick yourself up, dammit." Her voice as sharp as a blade sliced through him, "Lying around here like walker bait."

Daryl shook his head and laughed.

This was so fucked up beyond belief. He couldn't catch a damn break. He felt a hand shove his shoulder twice. "Dixon's do not break! Get up!" Vivian crouched down beside him with a hand harsh on his knee,

"You were nice at the grave..." Daryl hissed out at her through his internal pain which was wrapped around his heart like razor wire. Viv laughed through her nose and turned serious in a matter of seconds,

"Well... Y' can't be lying out here, shoutin' for every man, woman and damn child to hear ya! At least at the grave y'were quietly cryin'." Vivian was as cold as ice but Daryl knew himself it was for his own good. Her shovin' and her pushin'. "That girl is out there hopin' and prayin' that you're gonna find her before it's too damn late. And here y'are. On yer knees in the dirt whinin' like an old dog."

"Don't know if y'noticed, I've been runnin'. Two days. Two nights. And nothin'." Daryl glared at her from the corner of his eyes. "I got her damn Pa in my head just shoutin' that I'm a good f'r nothin' hick who never should've even looked her way... A-And there ain't nothin' I can do. So get off my back!" He pushed himself up and shook his hands gently to air out his knuckles and the blood. Vivian stared at the dirt before following him with fire in her steps. She hesitated behind him for a second before shoving him onto the road. "Fuck you!" Daryl shouted and turned. Viv pushed his shoulder forcefully and this only made him more angry, "Hey! Stop it!"

"Get yourself together, for God's sake! You are Daryl Dixon. You do not give up so easily!"

"Get off my damn back and leave me alone! I was doin' fine m'self until you tip up full of damn grace!"

This silenced Viv. She stared at Daryl and chewed at the inside of her cheek. He huffed out his nose like a raging bull and pushed past her to pick up his crossbow. There was a pull in her voice, a tug at her heart,

"Daryl, that girl is out there terrified. I'm just sayin' that crawlin' on your hands and knees and prayin' to God isn't gonna help her..."

"Well, y'wanna gimme a damn map so I can find her, huh? Or are you just gonna stand there and talk cryptic shit until I understan'?!" Daryl shouted back at her and came to her face, millimeters between them. Viv ran her tongue over her teeth and looked at him through slits,

"She is the damn light at the end of the tunnel, Daryl, damn it... I hear y' thinkin' at night. I do. I hear every thought that goes through y'," Daryl looked at her with his face heating up. He bowed his head slightly and rubbed at his eyes. Vivian shoved his shoulder once more and turned to take off up the road, "So, I'll go and I'll leave y' to do this y'rself. I'll take my damn grace. This is y'r business. I have other things to do than try and talk damn sense into you. Just keep y'r damn wits around y'." She said with a bright fire glowing in her eyes. Daryl gruffly hummed as she walked up the road into the distance. He scuffed his boot and looked the other way towards the three-way crossroads. He brought his hand to the back of his neck and harshly massaged the area. "Shit!" He grouched to the tarmac and let the crossbow slip from his hand. His best chance at getting Beth back was gone because of his sick temper. He knew she was trying to help and she knew fine well how to help. Letting his breathing return to normal and his blood pressure to lower, Daryl sat at the crossroads with his head resting in his hands. Two people Daryl had lost in two days and he didn't know if he'd ever see them again. The thought plagued him.

**_(AN/ I want to thank absolutely everybody has read this so far and has followed and favourited it too! This is an unbelievable reception! Thank you all so much! I hope you have all enjoyed it so far! R&R xx)_**


	5. Failed

(TW:Rape)

Chapter 4  
><span>Failed

_Carl was groaning on the ground. Daryl was shouting, being pummeled into the hard grit and metal of the truck, fists digging into him anywhere they could. In the blink of an eye, Rick's teeth were tearing into Joe's grizzly neck. Stunned and with the feeling of stomach acid churning within him, Daryl sunk his eyes to the leafy road, trying not to feel it anymore. The night he offered blood in order to save the man with the answers because there was nothing else to fight for in the world. Pussy-whipped and carrying the heavy load for the pricks who would kill anything that moved. Fessing blood. All to save his partner, his friend and Carl. All gone in an instant because Rick would take nothing more from Daryl. Michonne fought back and Carl was pushed to her. But as Michonne clutched Carl, Daryl kicked back and he pushed when he felt like every muscle in his body opted out. His reserve of power coming from Rick's determination. _

_xxx_

"Daryl, get up! Get up, they're coming! Get up!" Maggie pushed at Daryl's left shoulder and patted the side of his face. Groaning and stretching, his eyes fluttered open and it was still dark inside the container. Normally light cracked in from small corners when he was awoken. But no. It was the middle of the night to him and Glenn and Maggie taking their watch as if they were still at the moved on to Carl and then to Abraham. Slowly, everybody slid up the metal walls and gripped whatever make-shift weapon they could. Daryl held on to his belt. The footsteps approached and the door to the locker was drawn open with long drawn metallic screeches. Daryl made eyes to Rick whose hand was tight on Carl's shoulder. The man stood, young, handsome, with a perfectly trimmed goatee. A bat in his right hand and zip ties in the other. The sky was a rich royal blue with golden and pink clouds stretching across the tall buildings. "Good morning, ladies! Who wants to come up for my morning work-out?"  
>This was regular. The other day it was Glenn who had came back black and blue, blood running from his nose and mouth. Rick shook his head at Daryl who had taken a step forward. It was only right. Rick's head dropped and he brought Carl closer to him.<br>Big good-for-nothin' lump just lurking in the same corner of the cell day in, day out. It was just what he deserved. Even weeks after it had happened, the guilt was still raw in his gut. It wasn't over until he had paid for his pathetic mistake. The young man smiled and made his way over to Daryl. Daryl was calm and he held his wrists out for the zip-ties to be applied. Instead, the bat was lifted and it rattled down onto his hands. Daryl let out a strong yell and everybody moved back to the other side of the holder. Rick had Carl behind him and Michonne and Glenn at his sides keeping everybody back, away from the dangerous young hot-shot.

Daryl felt his knees go weak beneath him when his leather vest was stripped from him and thrown to Rick. Next came his shirt and that pooled at Daryl's feet. He held his breath and the tie was wrapped around his hands, binding them tightly together. His back was alight with scars. They throbbed around their borders and burned through him. The scars he knew she had studied that night in the house just before bed. He felt her eyes braise over him but not a word was said. He went back to the night, knowing what was going to happen and all he could do was wait for the swing of the bat.  
>Rick turned Carl to face the other way but he wouldn't. Carl wanted to know just how hurtful a person could be.<br>Blunt thuds rattled around the container, making sure everybody, even Eugene and Tara at the furthest corner could hear. The yells from Daryl struck deep into Maggie and Glenn held her as tight as he could, making sure that if this guy turned on them, Maggie would be as safe as possible. "AAAGH!" Daryl wheezed out when the bat beat into his side, a rib definitely cracking under the strain. He couldn't shout for help. He couldn't sound out words. Just air rushed out of his lungs every time he took a breath. Huffing and panting, Daryl couldn't cry tears of pain. They had evaporated in angst and sorrow days before. He tried his hardest to stay in the house with Beth, their squirrel stews and hot running water. The chime in her laugh and the silk touch of her fingers. He tried his hardest to replace the wooden bat with the silk.  
>It wasn't long before the young man had Daryl beaten to the ground, hammering down his arms, over his back and down to his legs. Eventually, Daryl started to shake with shock. His body was cold and everything was sharp. The young man, who was heaving with excitement, stopped his swings and bent down to Daryl, whipping a Stanley blade from his back pocket. Everybody waited with baited breath. Daryl just closed his eyes and thought hard about the good things. He could almost feel the cold steel pressed in at his neck, but instead, it was against his hands, loosening his restraints. Daryl didn't move a muscle, paralysed with agony. The young man's breath in his ear cooled him further and made him shake a little bit more. A laugh came from the mans throat and he turned as if to stand up to leave.<br>_Thrrrrrip! _From the top of his right shoulder across to his left hip. The steel vibrated down his back in striking pain which made some parts deeper than others, catching on waves of skin. Daryl's breath ran from his body, his chest just cold and quivvering within him. The young man wiped the blade on his jeans and headed out to the yard, closing and locking the container behind him.

Beads rolled down the side of his battered body and some pooled in the centre of his back. It was cold. Colder than he was. His skin completely on fire but this cooling liquid equalizing him. Daryl's mouth was dry. Hands were cold and feet matched. Rick and the others stood in awe at Daryl's wheezes and gasps of sudden pain. People slowly started to surround him but Daryl just lay and tried to blind-side his physical pain with that of a more mental state. This was the place he had set out to find with Beth. This sanctuary where he could keep her safe at all costs because of the big tall fences and high-rise gates. But it could've been her beaten and broken on the ground, stripped and humiliated in front of her family. How could he have been so naive to trust a radio advertisement? She wouldn't be gone if he hadn't dashed up the stairs that afternoon to grab the radio, her wet feet patting along behind him. Her sounds bounced off the inside of his head making both pains unbearable. He started to wretch and heave, his body shaking violently. Glenn peeled off his sweater and handed it down to Maggie who was attempting to be as delicate as possible with Daryl's injuries. Outside, there was muttering,  
>"<em>Who's taking it today? Is it Gareth<em>?" One voice asked, deep and low.  
><em>"Yeah he has morning. Then we take over at night. You know that's how it works, Bill!" <em>The other voice shouted.

* * *

><p><em>Clang. Roll. Jingle. Clang. Roll. Jingle.<em>  
>The noises swam around Beth's head in the darkness. Cold and hard the floor was against her side. The wall at her back matched. Barefoot, Beth lay, curled up in the darkest corner of her small shoe-box room in a place unknown. Ice shivered over her from the open but barred window. The sun was slowly rising when the large metal door to her room opened quickly as a tray of bread, beans and water was pushed in. It was re-locked and Beth didn't budge. It was as though the cold had frozen all of her joints and muscles and even her thoughts. The past couple of days, her mind looped on one particular day. The day the news came of the grocery store incident. No questions had to be asked. She just knew from the look in his eyes. The sympathy he exuded toward her for comfort. How quickly she changed the thirty to a zero on her small board. This thought would often crack her into tears and allow her to cry herself to sleep. That was the only way it could happen now.<br>"_I'm glad I didn't say goodbye, I hate goodbyes" _  
>It flashed to her and then faded into the darkness.<br>"Me too..." Beth whispered into the growing light of the room.

She gently pushed herself from the floor, pulling down and adjusting her polyester/nylon combination top and bottoms. In the dark light of the morning sky, the were a dull blue to match the painted walls. Her chilled feet brought the tray of food over and she slowly nibbled at the stale, dry bread with shaking hands. Then, she heard the steps. The heavy, clunking boots on the linoleum outside. Immediately, Beth backed up into her corner and held her knees close to her chest. As the lock in the door turned, Beth brought her hands to her ears, shaking her head from side to side. "Morning, blondie..." the voice drawled, "that time again, ain't it?"  
>"No! No! You can't keep doin' this!" Beth yelled and the door slammed shut, heavy steps coming over quickly,<br>"HEY! Shut your trap or I'll shut it for you!" The man was now down at her face, jaw between his thumb and forefinger. Beth looked at the man's deep dark eyes filled with intention and hurt. Her breath rattled around inside her hollow chest, battering off of her quickly thumping heart. She was silent and her eyes were wide. The mans beard brushed against her cheek as he pecked at her neck, cold, slimy kisses.  
>"Please stop..."Beth whimpered out, her hands gripping at her top tightly, twisting the fabric as his hand roamed over her shoulder. The man didn't listen. Beth swallowed down the sour taste of decaying yeast and her stomach growled with adrenaline and fear. The mans hands gripped her shoulders tight and she felt grimy the more he groped at her bruised and beaten skin. Bile threatened to escape Beth's lips but she held her tongue as the man ventured further with her. Pushing into skin and gripping until there were bruises. Gnawing at thin flesh and pinning down bone. Beth could only lie on the cold floor and look to the brighter wall near the open window. She ground her teeth as tears slipped from the corners of her eyes, trickling over her nose and onto the floor. "Please stop..." She whispered. Everything burned. Every blink she took burned. Each breath she inhaled scorched her. She just wanted it all to finish. Right there and then, her world to sink into darkness and never glow.<p>

A bang from down the block left Beth to lie alone on the ground, her body chilled to the core.  
><em>"Okay, it's gonna be soon. They're takin' up space and people are hungry!" <em>The mans voice shouted from down the corridor in another room, "_Yeah, I'll be right there_!"  
>This couldn't continue. Crying herself to sleep. Cradling nothing in her arms. Being a toy for all who pleased. No. It couldn't go on. Beth lay in the same spot where the man had her for the remainder of the day. Until the sky went dark around her.<br>If he wouldn't come to her, she would go to him.

When the block went quiet, Beth scootched gently over to the door. Pulling from the bottom of her sock a bobby pin. She knew it was a long shot but she had to at least try. She bit off the rubber ends and untwisted it until it was a long peice of wire. After the guard done his final round of the night before their feeding time, Beth started to pick after a while of waiting for the final footstep. Slowly and delicately, Beth picked and picked. Eventually the sound came. The polite click. A relieved sigh escaped her involuntarily. Beth pulled herself up with the help of the plastic chair from the opposite corner of the room and her palms sweated against the cold, steel doorknob. She pulled it open trying to silence the squeaks with slow motions. Beth prayed into herself as her foot stepped outside the door into the forest-green glowing corridor. She looked at all of the closed doors up and down, wondering just how many people were used. How many people were beaten and starved every other day. Gently, Beth closed the door behind her. It was silent. The only noise being her deep and low breaths. She started for the nearest exit. To her right, two doors away. The cold plastic on her feet made a sticky noise with each step. The door was no different. Sticky with god-knows what. The door lead to a stairwell leading up to the watch tower or down to the basement and the back door. With only small candlelight leading her down, Beth gripped the handrail and stealthily moved. Gentle and silent, just like Daryl had taught her when creeping up on animals.  
><em>Baby steps<em> He whispered in the back of her head just before she reached the bottom. Beth relished her hand as it tasted freedom through her gentle finger tips. But it wasn't to last.  
>"<em>Son of a bitch!" <em>A voice shouted from all the way up the stairwell. She was frantic now, pushing down the bar and running into the wild night with nothing but the clothes on her back. Beth dashed for the tree-line and was clear by the time the flood lights were lit and the sirens were sounded.

Speedily, Beth pounded down on the surrounding forest floor, putting as much distance between her and the glorified torture chamber as her body allowed. The were howls not far behind but she kept on. She leaped logs and dodged what walkers she came into contact with, leaving them to chase her pursuers back to base. Her arms were sometimes being snagged by thorn bushes and tree branches. It didn't stop her sprint.  
>Her foot caught on the root of a tree and she was sent soaring over a large hill, rolling and tumbling all the way to the very bottom where a tree met her with a harsh embrace. The air was knocked from her. Her brain rattled around in her skull and eventually settled with a rhythmic thumping.<p>

_(AN/This was a particularly hard piece to write! I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for all your support! Read and Review x)_


	6. Fistful

Chapter Six  
>Fistful<p>

_Surrounded by greenery and rolling grass hills, Beth lay in what seemed to be a luscious meadow. Insects buzzed around her and flowers gave her a polite smelling. Her eyes were on the solid blue sky with white dusted clouds. _  
><em>"Wh'tre you doin' here girlie?!" A gruff voice broke her from her sanctuary. Beth looked to her right and immediately retracted her arm from the grass towards her body. Merle had a hand behind his head and a smile on his face. "How'd you turn out here?" He laughed and his knee knocked hers. Beth was hostile and looked back up at the sky, pretending he wasn't there beside her, ruining her perfect afternoon doing nothing.<em>  
><em>"Beth, what're you doin'?" The other voice hummed from her other side. They were standing this time as the shadow cast over her. An immediate smile came to her face and she jumped up from the green, throwing her arms around him, exclaiming, <em>  
><em>"Daddy!" with tears in her eyes. <em>  
><em>"Now, now. Ain't no need for tears, blondie!" Merle was now standing beside them both, a hand on Hershel's shoulder, <em>  
><em>"Darlin', y'can't be here. It ain't right for you," Hershel looked her dead in the eyes with a hand on her shoulder. Merle nodded, <em>  
><em>"But, Daddy, I wanna stay here with you!" Beth whimpered, her eyes occasionally flickering to Merle who appeared younger but not a day older than fifty. Hershel glanced downward to Merle's general direction, <em>  
><em>"Listen, Cinders, there a shit-load that you gotta do before y' join us. Ain't right. Ain't time. Y' gotta get Maggie. Get Daryl. Heck, the damn Nubian Queen!-"<em>  
><em>"I think what he's try'na say is you gotta go back, Beth."<em>

_She didn't argue with this. She took a glance around her. She was back on the farm with her Daddy and Merle, of all people. Beth exhaled and closed her eyes. A gentle hand landed on her shoulder from behind and she turned, opening her eyes. "C'moan." She smiled and started to head for the tree line slowly. Beth tilted and squinted at the sunlight now beaming upon her. Like a model straight from the pages of a dated collectors magazine. So graceful and elegant with each step through the grass. Her hand was outstretched behind her for Beth to grab on to. Her long dark hair was still in the comforting Georgian summer. Beth was entranced at how the woman before her moved. Walking as though she was as light as a feather whereas Beth just clumped around behind. "Lots to do." The woman's head turned and her fresh white teeth flashed for just a moments. The glint of chocolate in her eyes almost hypnotized Beth. Beth outstretched her hand with a deep sense of trust in a woman she had never clapped eyes on before. Her hands were soft as silk against Beth's. They walked in silence to the treeline, Merle and Hershel just standing, hands in pockets, watching. _  
><em>The woman stopped gently in her tracks and turned to Beth. Nude pink pressed against grimy green in a warm and delicate embrace. Beth relaxed into her as though under a spell, falling deeper and deeper into a state of opulence. <em>

"Shut up!"The deep voice said in the darkness, thudding something with a heavy object.  
>"Here, set Judy down here. It'll have to do." The richer, feminine voice said. Surrounding her was strong but thin arms, hems of shirt sleeves digging into her back. Beth's eyes fluttered open into the wooden surrounding from a mystical dream. Pain swelling her from within, she gasped for breath and a face looked down at her. Thin and pale but brightly smiling. It was Carol. Beth was set down on the hard wood flooring but she immediately sat up, ignoring the burning agonies within her. Beth threw her arms around the woman before her and held her tight. The first face she recognized that was alive and breathing in front of her. Then the gurgle came from a make-shift crib. Tears pricked Beth's eyes and she looked away from Carol's embrace to the box on the floor. But, her happiness didn't seem to last when everybody cropped into the front of her mind,<br>"Everybody?! You've found them?!" She asked, gesturing to Judith and Tyreese, "You've seen them! Heard from them!"  
>Carol slowly shook her head,<br>"But I'm working something out" Carol reassured. A muffled shouting came from the corner of the room. Beth turned to see Tyreese in front of a shabby man. A face she could pick up. A face that was easily placed. The hospital. Her eyes widened and so did the man's. _They knew._

_x x x_

From the very pit of his stomach, remorse brewed within him. Even with the thumping pain from the previous days beatings alive in his body, everything else took over. The internal bleeding and the bruising was not Daryl's top priority. With the remorse slowly bubbling through him, disgust slowly emerged as he lay in the corner of the metal container. Maggie snuggled into Glenn's side, basking in the streak of sunlight coming from the door. Abraham and Rosita scuffed their boots on the ground as they rubbed wooden sticks against the sharp edge of one of the corners. Michonne sat with Carl and Rick, devising possible plans for attack whenever the door would open again. He nibbled on his thumbnail, watching Glenn tightly hold onto Maggie. She felt his eyes branding her. There was an uncomfortable shift in the air which made Maggie and Rick look to Daryl who was now pushing himself up from the ground. He winced and he sighed with every movement but he eventually stood tall. Broken, but tall. With a hand in his pocket and a thumb at his lips, Daryl looked at Maggie without saying a word. In his pocket, Daryl's fingers ran over the thin piece of notepad paper, his thumb ghosting over the words _Breakfast _and _Fresh Juice_. Eventually, his finger met the indentation of _Beth x._ Ever since the day she had left him, he studied the words and recited the note in his mind. Daryl let out a gruff sigh.  
>"Is there a problem?" Rick asked, slowly standing from his squat position.<br>"Hm! Yeah!" Daryl hummed, gripping the paper between his fingers in his pocket.  
>"Daryl, c'moan over with us. It ain't right for you to be sittin' like that everyday, y'rself." Rick was stern but his hand gesture towards Daryl was gentle.<br>"No, what ain't right is that she was too damn busy botherin' about Short Round when her damn sister is off in the back of some hick's car! _That_ ain't right!" Daryl snapped and took his hand from his mouth, throwing gestures in Maggie's direction, "It ain't right that y'all were too damn busy worryin' if Glenn and Maggie were safely together when she's out there in the fuckin' cold and surrounded by damn walkers! That shit ain't right!" Daryl was yelling and his hand crumpled the aper in his pocket. Maggie stood and walked to him with business in every step,  
>"How dare you say I ain't worryin' about her!"<br>"Did you once look for her when you were tryin'a find _him_?! From what I seen,_ Glenn go to Terminus, Maggie! Glenn, go to Terminus! _Not one damn sign for your own fuckin' sister! Not one! And you are all she's got!" Daryl stared down at her, his ears and his cheeks at boiling point, "Am I the only sorry fucker that gives a shit if this girl lives or dies?! Cause I seem to be!"  
>"We got bigger things to worry than a girl who's lost in the woods! We gotta get outta here first!" Abraham shot at Daryl. Like a raging bull, Daryl started quickly for Abraham.<br>"You selfish son of a bitch! How dare you!? How can you say that!?" Daryl aggressively took his hand from his pocket, the note crumpled in his white-knuckle fist. Rick slipped between them both and put a hand on Daryl's heaving chest. There was shouting and defending between Daryl and Abraham and Rosita and Carl but Daryl's blood got hotter by the second.  
>"Hey, why don't we jus' go 'n cool off, yeah? C'moan," Rick moved closer to Daryl, placing his hand now onto the taller man's shoulder,<br>"You start on Maggie for not carin' but have you found her and brought her back?" Abraham slyly said and quickly, Daryl turned to him, fist raised high above his head. His teeth ground together and fire came from his throat.  
>"HEY! Hey! Dar'l, c'moan, man, c'moan!" Rick pulled Daryl's shoulder towards his corner again and Daryl dragged his feet, fist slowly lowering and releasing.<p>

x x x

"So how long have you been here?" Beth whispered as Tyreese tended to the slit above her brow,  
>"Well, we jus' found it when we found you lyin'. A damn lucky find if you ask me..." He smiled and was gentle with her skin, disinfecting and dressing as soft as possible. The man from the corner of the room laughed when he heard an engine approach,<br>"Who have you called?" Tyreese asked, "Hell, how did you call them?!" He stood tall above Beth and Judith uncomfortable whined in her make-shift crib. The door of the car slammed and suddenly, both Beth and Tyreese prayed for it to be Carol returning with food or hopefully, the rest of their group. There was a rattle at the door and the man in the corner called out as though drunk,  
>"IN HEEEERRRRRE!" He sang and the wooden door was kicked open. Beth's eyes locked with his and there was a fire burning in him. Tyreese stood up with his hand on his knife. The man held his hand up and tried to side step Tyreese.<br>"Look, man, I'm here for her."  
>"No, please, God! LEAVE ME ALONE! What do you want with me?!" Beth screamed as the man's hand grabbed her arm, dragging her out into the forestry. Tyreese fought to pull her back in but it was too late. She was tossed into the passenger side of the car, doors locked tight. She clawed at the window and the door, screaming for Tyreese to smash something in and help her. But again, before he could pick up a claw hammer and batter in the windshield, the man was turning the key in ignition and revving away up the dirt path. Tyreese cursed into himself, gritting his teeth and tending back to Judith in the box.<p>

_(AN/ Sorry it's a short chapter. I've just been a bit busy. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Please read and review xx)_


	7. Do You Remember?

Chapter 7  
>Do You Remember?<p>

_Kicking his feet on the yellow chair beside him, Daryl grimaced at the children outside, frantic. The door clicked and she walked in, tall and old but with no grey hair, _  
><em>"Daryl, tell me; What's been going on with you and the other boys?" The woman made way to the desk and sat down with a gentle smile. Daryl never looked away from the window. All the normal kids ran around in their jeans and yellow sundresses, larger than life and he was stuck inside. "Now, Daryl... C'mon, you can tell me. I wanna hear your side before I hear theirs."<em>  
><em>"Jack... And them other boys..." He slowly drawled out and picked at the peeling white paint on the windowsill. The woman nodded and sorted her lilac cardigan before he spoke again, "They said things about my momma 'cause they don't like me" Daryl looked down at his feet that were still kicking the yellow chair. The woman nodded and picked up her telephone, dialing the office. Conversation vibrated the air between them both and within minutes of silence, there was a knock at the door. "C'mon in, boys. Have a sit down beside Daryl here!" The Principal gleefully said when the door opened. Three boys walked in with their knitted sweaters and collars sticking out, pulling away the kicked yellow seat from Daryl. The taller boy, Jack, took a seat. The other boys stood. <em>  
><em>"Yer daddy left y'all yet?!" Jack laughed and the other boys sneered. Daryl turned from the window and got to his feet, getting right into Jack's face. He shouted,<em>  
><em>"Shut the hell up or I'll kick yer damn teeth in!" <em>  
><em>The principal ended her conversation with a teaching assistant and closed the door to her office, "Now, boys! Stop this! This is no way to act!" She harshly said and put her fist down on her desk. Daryl scuttled back to his chair by the window and brought his knees up to his chest. <em>  
><em>"He started it, Ma'am!" One of the smaller boys said and threw a paper ball at Daryl's head. He didn't flinch. <em>  
><em>"Enough!" She was stern and she was disappointed. But, after a few moments, she collected herself and calmly sat behind her desk again. Looking at Daryl, she started in a whisper, "Now, Daryl, no matter how much these boys upset you, it is not okay for you to put a dead skunk in Jack's backpack, got it?!" She now hollered. The boys laughed and make snide comments about Daryl amongst themselves before she turned to them, "And for you three! You don't never talk about someone's momma and pa like that ever again! Y'all shouldn't even know those words that you threw at Daryl!" <em>  
><em>The boys were quivering at her anger which made her cheeks flush and neck vein stick out in just the slightest. Daryl sat and looked, expressionless, out of the cracked window. She left the young boys in fear as she dialed another number. "Yeah... Uh Huh. The sixth graders, yeah... Dixon... And Barnott... The skunk, yeah... 'Kay... Yeah, she's all... Yeah... Alrighty... Thank you. Thank you, bye-bye!" <em>

_The phone had been hung up for an hour. Daryl had barely moved from the principals office when the principal came back. The other boys were taken away by their parents and she had kept him safely in her room until she arrived. There was a blur of conversation that increased slowly, "__**Again, I am dreadfully sorry for takin' you outta school for this with yer mid-terms comin'... It's just... Your mother is a touchy subject right now..."**_  
><em><strong>"I completely understand... A-And it's fine. It was just Driver's Ed. I'll handle him."<strong>_  
><em>The door creaked open and eleven year old Daryl gnawed at his lip. Terrified to turn, he pretended he didn't hear her voice coming closer to him, "Daryl, what's goin' on?". Like a hot knife through butter, Daryl melted at her comfort,<em>  
><em>"Nuthin', I just wanna go..." He sighed. Her hand rested upon his small shoulder and she gently pulled for him to stand up and walk out with her. The principal gave a gentle smile to the both of them and closed the door once they were down the hall. <em>

_They walked in silence for most of the way, kicking dirt and leaves under their feet. But Vivian stopped and they took a detour. A longer way home. _  
><em>"Look, Daryl, I ain't gonna scold ya. You don't deserve that. You jus' didn't know how to deal with yer anger in a way that didn't involve punchin' his damn mouth in! I get it!" She adjusted the bag on her shoulder and brought him closer to her with a gentle tug at his arm. The autumn sun was warm on their backs as they trod through the thinning trees to their home. <em>  
><em>"I wanted to scare 'im-"<em>  
><em>"And you did! Just a little bit too much!" Vivian laughed and Daryl cracked a small smile up at his sister, <em>  
><em>"I know. He jus' made me so mad. Don't hate me, yer all I got!" Daryl's smile went sour and Vivian stopped again, crouching down in the orange leaves with a delicate look,<em>  
><em>"Daryl, I said I ain't gonna scold ya. I ain't angry and I don't hate ya! You did what you thought was right, jus' like I told ya..."A soft hand rubbed his grey shoulder and pulled his backpack up. She smiled as she sharpened him up and her eyes glittered when she looked into him, "But, we kinda gotta work on how you do things properly, now, don't we?!"<em>  
><em>Daryl nodded and looked down to his sneakers which were muddied up and grubby. The soft hand brought him back up to look at her smile. "Now, smile. Everything's alright again. Don't let 'em see ya cry," She pointed at his nose as though he was a baby and Daryl smiled boldly at her. <em>

_When they started walking again, Daryl's nose pricked a scent. Scorched rubber and fire-wood. He put his hand across his sister and they stopped for a third time. She furrowed her brows and followed Daryl's eyes to the sky. Belching black smoke. Before Vivian could register, Daryl's pack was dropped and he was racing through the trees to their scorched house. He muttered as he ran. She chased behind, catching his tail end hopping up the front porch and into the thick darkness. She dropped everything and ran in behind, calling for him with a piercing scream. Downstairs was just smoke and she couldn't find her baby brother. She followed the murky air up to the bedrooms. "DARYL!" Vivian screamed out and there was no reply. Each step was hard on the stairs and across the hall to their parent's bedroom. The door was wide, orange and amber glowing rapidly. Viv fanned in front of her face to clear the recurring smoke as she peeked into the bedroom. A carton of cigarettes at the foot of the bed and the burning body of their mother on top of the mattress. Vivian felt no sadness. No guilt or melancholy looking at her dead mother who had smoked out the house trying to balance a cigarette in her fingers with a glass of Jack at her lips. Of course she would've been sleeping. Doped up on booze and prescriptions. She would've been gone before the flames had even started to catch. Vivian grabbed the door handle and slammed the door behind her, screaming for Daryl once again. _

_Vivian checked all of the bedroom and had to grab a towel from the bathroom to filter her air. She stumbled down the stairs where the air was thinner and searched for Daryl. He wasn't in the kitchen and he wasn't in the sitting room. She checked the pantry and even behind the sweaty armchair. "DARYL?!" Vivian screamed. _  
><em>"I'M HERE!" He huffed from the back door, coming out from the closet with the crate of stray puppies and their mother at his feet. They whined and yelped as the smoke strolled down the stairs thicker than before. Viv started for him immediately and swapped the towel for the crate. She held her brother in front of her and pushed him out the front door onto the porch. After setting the crates down on the grass and grabbing a gasping Daryl from the porch steps, she slumped into the dirt and held Daryl close as he tried for air. The mother of the pups walked around the crate, sniffing and pawing.<em>  
><em>"I jus' wanted to save 'em!" Daryl huffed and panted for air. Vivian nodded and panted herself. Approaching sirens got louder and it wasn't long before the entire force showed up. When it came to the puppies, Daryl was beside his sister, wrapped in a thick blanket, the fully grown mother mutt at their legs. After trying the puppies with oxygen, a fire-fighter came to them both on a tree stump with the crate in his hands and with a grey expression. Daryl immediately started to cry and Vivian took hold of the crate with the four lifeless puppies.<em>  
><em>Without thinking twice, she grabbed a shovel from the mossy shed and started to dig four separate graves,<em>  
><em>"NO!" Daryl wept, "They're brothers and sisters! Keep them together!" He demanded and shrugged off the shock-blanket. As she dug out the earth, Daryl took each of the small puppies and places them inside of the blanket. Apart from the roar of commotion nearer the house, they both worked in silence. The mother came to the blanket and started to whine, which made Daryl weep again. Vivian hopped out of the hole and picked up the blanket of puppies, looking Daryl straight in the eyes, <em>  
><em>"Y' can't save everybody." Her words were final and after Daryl had filled in the grave, he threw the shovel against the tree stump with angst and guilt. Regret that he hadn't ran fast enough.. The mother lay on top of the mount of dirt, crying and whining, not moving. Daryl moved to his sister and looked up at her sweaty face ashen with smoke and muck, <em>  
><em>"I might not be able t', but I'll sure as hell try! You<em>_** always **__tell me to try!"_

(AN/ Sorry! This is kind of a filler chapter! I hadn't properly planned out the next chapter quite yet and I didn't want to write it if it's not perfect. So this is just kind of put together for you guys, giving some background to Viv and Daryl! I hope you enjoyed it! Read and Review!xx

.PS. Thank you all so much for your support for this story! I am thrilled at the reception it has been getting! I'm so glad you like it so much!)


	8. Way of The Wicked

Chapter Eight  
>Way of the Wicked<p>

In the dark box which had some rays peeking through small cracks nearest the door, Daryl 'patrolled' what he could. He had his belt wrapped around his fist, ready to fight whoever dared to enter what was now _their_ domain. Like a lion protecting his pride, Daryl took slow steps. Rick and Carl buffed what they could of their belts and other instruments on the cracked wooden slats which held the container upright as Abraham, Michonne and Tara went over God-knows-what in whispers. Daryl occasionally stopped at the small cracks to have a glance out to the wide world. It was beautiful, what he could see of it, but it wasn't as breathtaking as it had been before.  
>He moved away from the crack in the weather-worn metal and slumped to the dingy ground so his feet could recuperate. It was as he put his head back to the metal and hummed a familiar tune to himself, he heard it. Scuffling, huffing and the occasional 'OW!' tossed in. Slowly, Daryl's head twisted towards the growing commotion outside. With fragility, he pushed himself further into the metal wall and sat bolt upright. He looked down his nose to his small dark corner as he listened. The slash on his back from days before lit up and set his body into an uncomfortable disposition. Daryl's eyes squinted as the man outside began a conversation with what seemed to be a hostage. Another poor soul lead like lamb-to-slaughter by the radio waves and signs. From the man's tone, he had intentions and Daryl could only deduce it was a woman by the advances the man made by pushing them to the other side of the container with a purring sound. His eyes closed as to concentrate harder and a lump hit his throat like the opposite of a tonne weight. It came from nowhere and made him struggle for air. His brain was live with thoughts of the worst. Daryl prayed silently into himself as the purring continued that Beth had gotten the hell outta dodge of this place. His mouth started to mimic his silent prayers which made Carl look up.<p>

Carl delicately excused himself from Rick's company and made his way to Daryl with light feet but before Carl could even imagine a conversation to happen between the pair, Daryl's hand slowly raised as if to silence Carl's thoughts. He studied Daryl's contemplative expression and knelt beside him as quietly as possible to hear the talking from outside. Daryl's silent breaths and Carl's wavering hands on his lap made Glenn suspicious.  
>"Hey, are those guys here to let us out?" Eugene plucked from the corner behind Michonne and Abraham. With that, Daryl jumped to his feet making Eugene back into the corner, fearing that he had angered Daryl. Daryl's hands beat off of the echoing metal. At this point, Rick got to his feet and arranged his belt around his fist much like Daryl's had done earlier. He went to Carl, a and on his shoulder and the other on Daryl's to calm him. Daryl howled out, "You filthy son' a bitch! Y'all take yer hands off her!" his fists continuing to wrap and clatter at the corrugated iron. This stunned the others who looked up to the yelling beast completely bewildered. Rick tried to pacify Daryl but he called out, "Damn, man! Rapin' her!" which was preceded with mumbles and yells.<br>Rick took a step back when he heard the slump from outside and the footsteps in the gravel. Daryl continued to beat the metal and shout. Rick pushed Carl behind him into Michonne and Maggie. The door to their containers was whipped open with a loud roll. With fire in his soul and anger in his eyes, Daryl had barely reached the opening before he was sucker-punched back inside to his corner.

Carl watched as Daryl was thrown around like a crash-test-dummy by the man from outside. His chest thumped with his fast heart beats and he looked outside, knowing that they could all run. But fear paralyzed each and every one of them. They were completely hypnotized by Daryl's hollering out to them for help. Carl's eyes danced from outside to inside, outside where the sun was shining to inside where it was grey and murky. He slowly pulled away from Maggie's hold and moved closer to the door with a side step before being stopped by Abraham's strong, beefy arm. He looked up and Abraham was thinking the same. They could go, right now, cause a riot, but maybe never see the light of day again. Carl sighed and Abraham put his arm flush to Carl's chest to keep the young boy from moving any further and blowing everybody's chance of surviving. Carl looked out of the container into the wide open world he couldn't run into. And he seen it. _He seen her_. Face scrunched with tears and clothes, that weren't her clothes, sodden with blood and everything else. Her ponytail had slipped down to her neck and some strands clung to the wound at the side of her head. She sniffed up her tears and rubbed her arms, looking around before her eyes locked with his. Carl widened his eyes and Beth done the same. He dipped his head and tilted it as if to question _'how in the hell are you alive?' _  
>Her mouth stretched to a false, worried smile, as though to reply, <em>'I don't even know myself how I got here'. <em>She nervously scratched up and down her arms, terrified to peer around the edge of the container.

As quickly as it had all started, it had ended. The man gave a final swing into Daryl before strutting past everybody who watched and slammed the door back over, cutting the eye contact between Carl and Beth. He stood in front of her with a smile, her chin between his thumb and forefinger, "Nothin' to worry about." And he pressed his lips forcefully onto hers. Beth leaned back with disgust but there was nowhere she could squirm away to. No corner to run to. His tongue traced her tense, pursed lips and left a scarring taste whenever she would take an in-breath. He walked her to the main building with his arm around her back, hand resting at her side. Beth's nose was wrinkled but there was nothing she could do about it. "I know you know them. I know they're your crowd." The man said once they were inside the 'church' of the building. "You were watchin' the boy. And he was watchin' you."  
>"Sorry..." Beth whispered and tried to move away from him but his grip around her was tighter than ever,<br>"Look, it's fine. Call me Gareth, Baby. You don't have to worry about them anymore. They'll be fine."  
>Beth's stomach churned and she took all of her energy to not hurl. they started to walk again, "You don't go near <em>that<em> container," Gareth demanded, "You do not try to escape. You do not _even look _in the direction of that container," Gareth said with his hand now in hers as he walked her through to the large warehouse area and he stood her in front of a bloodied gurney with odds-and-ends of mish-mashed body parts left over, "or that'll be _you_" and he pointed to a loose index finger. Beth washed over with white and immediately felt clammy.  
>What in God's earth was she involved in <em>now<em>?

_(AN/ Thank you again for all your support! In reply to Maykit's review on whether or not I am following the show; I am using the show as a guideline and going into Beth and Daryl's emotions as best as I can, adding in my own little parts and slight twists along the way. I hope you guys are enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing it for you all! I feel that this chapter is quite rushed but if you're all happy then so am I! Please feel free to inbox me any ideas you might have for future chapters! Any criticism is good criticism in my books. Thank you all so much!xx)_


	9. Nobody

Chapter Nine  
><span>Nobody

_"I believe you, Daryl..." Carl whispered in the cold of the night, "That you went out for her and everything else..."  
><em>_Daryl sighed and looked down to the kid in the pitch dark,  
><em>_"Thanks... I just gotta... Gotta see 'er 'nd say 'm sorry." Daryl looked aay and back to the other side of the container, "I stopped lookin'."  
><em>_"Daryl, you done everything you could to bring her back-"  
><em>_"Her family is here. Glenn. Maggie. You-"  
><em>_"And __**you**__." Carl poked the side of Daryl's arm gently, "Y' just gotta keep on with it, don't you? We'll get out. And __**we **__will find her. I promise."_

Thrust into her hand was a bat dented in with fragments of bone, hair and blood. She stood idly in the corner of the tall grey room, tears threatening to escape hery eyes onto the concrete floor. From a table, an apron was thrown to her,  
>"Put it oan... Now!" The guy ordered. Beth started to shake and dropped the bat to the ground, fumbling and stumbling over the tiers of the plastic apron. The man watched as she done so but stepped in to tightly knot the apron behind her. Beth closed her eyes as his sour breath moved over her shoulders, through her ponytail and down her back. He pressed a quick peck to her cheek and went over to a further table which had body parts assorted atop of it. The man tightened up his gloves and held onto the handles, "I'll take this out then we can get on with it! Pick up the bat so we can start, aight?"<br>He wheeled the table out as Beth crouched to the floor, grabbing the bat and standing again to tall, burly men escorting hostages into the room. Each of the men were pushed to their knees in front of Beth, the silver trench behind them. The bat was clutched to her chest and she scanned up and down the row of eight. One of the back-up spoke to her with a silky voice, "You got this, _new one_?"  
>Beth hitched a breath and nodded, shrugging off the man's hand on her shoulder before he left.<p>

Immediately after noticing Bob, Beth dropped the bat and fell to her knees in front of Bob, pulling the rag from his mouth, "What are you doin' here?!" Beth whispered, checking over him for marks, bruises, cuts- anything at all. Bob just shook his head,  
>"I don't know! We thought it was a good place!" He sighed and tried to calm a frantic Beth. Beside Bob, Rick struggled. She scuffled over and took his rag out and he had a predatory look in his eyes, "Rick, don't hate me! I'm so sorry! I was tryn'a find you. I didn't mean to be with them! I'm sorry!"<br>Rick shook his head, "It's fine. It is. Just keep a distance. We're getting outta here. Don't worry." Beth nodded at his orders. Rick started to crack and turn his neck, ready, waiting for the perfect moment. Beth looked down the line to the others, her heart sinking. The purple and the blue against the olive and the brown. Beth scuffled further down the line and left Rick and Bob to talk quietly. Beth pulled down the rag past his stubble and his bruises as Glenn carefully watched the door and listened intently for the tingle of the gurney wheels on concrete. He didn't say anything to her and she didn't say anything to him but she placed both of her hands to the side of his rough face with delicacy. Without cracking a wrinkle to his face or agitating a bruise, Daryl limply smiled to her, his lips seperating to talk, "Fancy runnin' into you here!" He huffed out and Beth hung her head,  
>"Daryl..." She breathed with her eyes filling up again. Daryl moved his head further into her left hand, nuzzling in like a kitten would to a blanket.<br>"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you" Daryl hummed quietly to her hand. Beth's heart swelt in her chest and she took in the deepest breath,  
>"Daryl, don't..."<br>"No, I didn't. You ended up here. And I was takin' you here to find Maggie. How could I h've been so damn stupid to not know-"  
>"Daryl, <em>nobody<em> knew what was here..." She sighed and she got to her feet, her hand still against Daryl's face but after a moment, she pulled back and grabbed her bat. Daryl immediately pressed his head to the belt of her jeans as though for a hug. She laced her free hand across his shoulders, eventually kneeling back down in front of him and wrapping both arms around him tightly, gently sighing into him. There was a clang of metal on metal. Glenn groaned to her and Beth took in a final breath before standing tall and placing the rag back into Daryl's mouth with sad eyes, her hands and eyes lingering for a short second. Scuffling, Beth pulled up the rags back to Rick and Bob's mouth where they held them between their teeth.

"C'mon! Over here." The man walked over from the empty gurney and stood behind a young blond man, his hand gripping his hair. When Beth was positioned by the mans free hand to behind the blond man, she let out the breath she had been holding in since Daryl. "Just a quick, heavy swing."  
>Beth quickly shook her head and the groans and muffled yells erupted from the man in front of her. "C'mon! Quick! Quick, fast, fast, hit him!" The man was shouting to her and Beth gave a large swing to the back of the man's head with a dull thud. Beth gagged when his throat was slit and the man pushed her along to the next person, getting closer and closer to Daryl and Glenn. The point of the bloodied knife prodded her shoulder for another swing. Biting the inside of her cheek, she swung again and moved on without being told. As she thumped the third man's skull, Beth caught Daryl looking down but towards Glenn as though to catch a familiar sight before he dies. When the bat was raised a fourth time, Gareth stepped in with his notepad and scribbling pen. He muttered words to the man with the knife and nodded as he wrote,<br>"Having fun?!" Gareth laughed and looked her in the eyes. Cold, like stone made her shiver all over and her stomach turned. "Go on. Kill Short Round. Go." Gareth stepped closer to Glenn and crossed his arms, "Go on..."  
>"I can't... Y'know I can't..." Beth pleaded and Gareth made his way around to her, hand firmly on her shoulder when he got there,<br>"Alright, baby. Alright. But if you don't beat Short Round, you beat the Hell's Angel" and Gareth booted Daryl's zip-tied feet, "He's just been a pain in my ass since he got here..."  
>"NO. I'm not touching them!" Beth hissed at Gareth and the man with the knife swiped the bat from her hands.<p>

Suddenly, the room around them shook. Dust fell and rocks tumbled from the ceiling. The dust covered the survivors who were looking amongst themselves worriedly. Rick had the flicker of time in his eyes and tilted his head, gripping god knows what in his hand. Beth looked around to see if anything fell down around her. "We're gonna find out what that is. You got it here, right?" Gareth leaned behind a tense Beth and was recieved with a grunt from the man with the bat. Gareth nodded and picked up Beth, violently tossing her over his right shoulder and carrying her from the room kicking and screaming whilst giving Rick the look of 'kick his sorry ass' which was accepted. Daryl didn't even up look as Gareth dragged her away.

_(AN/ Three chapters! I know it's a short one! Thank You all so much for reading this far and thank you for all the support you have given me. I'm sorry if this isn't as good as it normally is. I've just not been fully in the zone this week. Sorry, sorry, sorry! I hope you think it's aight ;) Read and Review!xx)_


	10. Hang Up

Chapter Ten  
>Hang Up<p>

"Just gon' let 'im turn! C'mon!" Rick yelled throughout the room, dancing around the limp bodies beside Glenn. He swiftly got to his knees and cut the zip tie from Bob and Daryl's ankles. Daryl tended to Glenn and in no time, they stood tall and united. They scavenged around the room for anything useful to use as a weapon. Bob dragged a knife along the metal table before slipping it into his belt whereas Glenn and Daryl remained un-armed until they reached the largest meat-locker known to man. The entire place just down right reeked of sour, decaying meat. It hung from the ceiling and lay strewn around the room. Rick looked around frantically with his arms tensed, "You come across them, you kill 'em. You do not hesitate!" He ordered. As Daryl slipped a large blade from a wooden work bench, Glenn put his hand gently onto his shoulder with a sympathetic look. The door was only mere inches away before Rick stopped and turned into the three followers. He had his hand out in front of him as though layin' down the law, "What we seen in there; we don't tell Maggie-"  
>Glenn's throat made a noise but Rick looked him dead in the eyes with words of stone, "She's already <em>moved on. <em>She's said her goodbye's. You all know that. For a second, I think we actually all had... But we can't risk regurgitatin' everythin' again for everyone... The fact is; _for now_, Beth's alive. We know that. Keep it to yourself." Rick was now looking at Daryl who was busy turning the blade slowly in his fingers, his face hollow and eyes blinking slowly.

Rick gestured for Bob and Glenn to take front lead out of the meat locker and out into the yard where the train-cars were. With stealth, Rick and Daryl walked slowly behind,  
>"'m sorry I didn't listen to ya, man... It's jus'... We've been like this for so long and it's easy to mix up reality with dreams- I know that..."Rick sighed and Daryl held his hand out in front of Rick's chest but continued to walk,<br>"t's fine... She's alive. 't's fine..." Daryl repeated with his monotone voice. Rick swallowed hard and shook his head,  
>"Look, we got it out here. Go grab what you can." Rick looked Daryl right in his dark blue eyes. His lips said one thing but his eyes read another to Daryl, "We'll get you where we left the bag."<br>"Jus' get Carl out alrigh'..." Daryl's final words to Rick were bold before taking off in another direction for another door. Armed with his heavy blade, Daryl beat his way through a few dozen cannibals, leaving a bloody trail in his absence. After trodding through more dingy meat lockers and slaughter houses, he eventually came to the front 'office' where he caught Gareth packing a bag in such a rush, it left a draught behind him as he moved. He watched silently for a few moments before stepping out.

The sunlight beat through the high up windows but eventually became clouded with the smoke from outside. Gareth stood in the centre of the large room with a breathless face. Slowly, Daryl took steps towards him and slowly, Gareth took a few steps back,  
>"Where is she?"<br>"Where's who?" Gareth laughed nervously. Daryl took a quicker step towards him,  
>"Beth. Where... is... she?" Daryl was surprisingly calm but Gareth was thinking at one hundred miles an hour on how to get out of this unscathed. He desperately babbled and Daryl peered through his black and blue eyes, "You tell me..."<br>"She's gone, man!" Gareth shouted,  
>"WHERE HAS SHE GONE?!" Daryl screamed back and made Gareth shivver like a new puppy in the cold.<br>"Uh-buh-uhh-uh- S-s-she's gone out the front gate! The front gate with the other guys!".  
>Daryl straightened up from his predator-like stance and walked quickly to a terrified Gareth, stripping him of his bag and his firearm. They were thrown to the floor just before Daryl took Gareth by the scruffs of his shirt and threw him down to the cold ground. Daryl placed his knee on top of Gareth's chest but still gripped the flannel,<br>"You tell me damn straight where she went! Who is she with?!"  
>"You'll have to kill me!" Gareth said with a growing smile and laugh. It wasn't long before Gareth was full on cackling with the whole weight of Daryl on his chest, "You'll have to kill me!" He continued to cackle and Daryl thought long and hard before he hissed,<br>"Fine," and pressed down hard, making sure there were a few crunches beneath him before standing. Gareth breathed whilst continuing to laugh loud as Daryl grabbed zip ties, the small bag and the gun. He pulled Gareth to his feet and held him by the scruff of the neck. "Walk." Daryl seethed with such rage like a black bull seeing the colour red.

Through the front door Gareth was shoved, protecting Daryl from the walkers but Daryl didn't dare let the walkers scratch the worthless piece of shit in his hands.  
>"<em>What're you doin'?!" <em>A gentle voice shrieked from Daryl's side as he pushed Gareth through the herd to the front gates, "_Daryl Dixon, you answer me right now! You leave him! Go and find Rick, God dammit_!"  
>He felt a hand pull and tug at the sleeve of his jacket but he ignored it. Like Rick had said, dreams were too easily transfused with reality. "<em>Daryl! Listen to me! Daryl<em>!". With a tear in his eye, Daryl pushed Gareth faster as though he could outrun her. Up the steep slope of dirt and leaves Gareth was forced, a smile still plastered onto his smug, white-trash face. After Daryl walked him for a short few meters, he plucked for a thick tree. Gareth was pushed against it and his hands were zip-tied at the back of it. Daryl paced for a few ticks before facing Gareth and speaking slowly,  
>"Y'know what attracts 'em, don't y'?"<br>_Daryl. Don't do this._  
>"Y'know it's blood... Like sharks."<br>_Daryl stop. This isn't you!_  
>"Just a drop is all it'll take. The smallest <em>slice<em>..."  
><em>You ain't my brother no more, Daryl Dixon!<em>  
>Her words against his started to build within him, the fire of anger turning to the fire of disgust, self loathing and self pity. It all came too much and Daryl lashed out on the helpless Gareth before him,<br>"If you laid a finger on 'er!" Daryl hollered between Haymakers and right hooks. He huffed out a breath with each hit to Gareth's face, "If you touched 'er!" He screamed with an uppercut to Gareth. He was now full on weeping and he stepped back to look at the mess he had made

Gareth's face dripped with thick blood and saliva but a smile was still on his face. With the energy he had, he mustered out a chuckle. Daryl stood in front of him, no anger, no hatred. Nothing. But something inside burst and Daryl strut right to Gareth's face, lifting his filthy chin with his finger,  
>"If you somehow survive <em>this<em> and you dare come and find us... I'll kill you. _Flat out _this time."

"So, what'd you get?" Rick asked a quiet Daryl as he approached with nothing and nobody behind him. Daryl just shrugged and looked up at Rick. Rick just nodded at Daryl's blank expression and left him to stroll along at the back of the group.  
>As Daryl lurked behind, he could feel the pressure build again just like it had done back at the cemetery with Beth by his side and in his hand. This mix-up of feelings and the force of growing-up he put on her shoulders- Oh, how he wished it would all just pour out onto the dirt and leaves and he could be done with it. He could just hang up his jacket and bow on a tree branch and pray to God that it happened quickly. Carol lead the way towards the small little hut where Tyreese stood boldly with Judith in his arms. Daryl's body sank even further. Carl and Rick had Judith. Abe had Eugene, Tara and Espinosa. Glenn was tightly beside Maggie and Sasha gripped both Bob and Tyreese in her thin arms. Michonne gushed over Judith and Carol started for Daryl but got the coldest reception. "C'mon, pookie." She smiled a bright smile and gave Daryl a brisk cuddle. It was at that moment, Daryl just let it all go. He sobbed quietly into her shoulder. Carol rubbed his back and held back her own tears. Someone had to be strong. They hugged like this for a while before Daryl pulled back and laughed to Carol's shock.<br>"What's up?" She asked in a gentle tone, rubbing his arm softly.  
>"I need a damn house to trash, that's what!" Daryl chuckled through his tears and for a second, he almost believed that he might come out of this okay. But when Daryl's smile fell flat and his bottom lip vibrated with tears, Carol pulled him in again. She soothed him with a gentle brush over his shoulders and he retracted so deep into his own head.<p>

_Y'know... If you hadn't taught her all those things, baby brother..._  
><em><strong>V, don't...<strong>_  
><em>Oh, Daryl hush! Y'know I'm right.<em>  
><em><strong>Y' might be but it doesn't make anything easier... Jus' wanna hold her hand again and really protect her. Y'know, like I shoulda done<strong>_  
><em>You did, Daryl! You know you did. I don't know how many times we can tell y' that... <em>  
><em><strong>But she's standin' there not twitchin' her ass! If that was you, I wouldn't sleep 'til I found ya! I wouldn't!<strong>_  
><em>Daryl, y' don't gotta prove nothin' to me- I know you wouldn't. That's just who you are. It's your nature to give more than y' get...<em>  
><em><strong>I don't know where to go anymore. Jus' knowin' she's out there... when she could be here... with us!<strong>_  
><em>Daryl...<em>  
><em><strong>With us! As a damn group again!<strong>_  
><em>Daryl... With you.<em>  
><em><strong>Well nobody else is givin' a damn, so who else does she have?! 'm the only one who has to make things right with 'er... She's out there 'causa me. She's lost 'causa me... Out there scared, cold, probably bleedin' or dyin' 'causa me...<strong>_  
><em>Daryl, you're being dramatic. It's Georgia. It's like thirty degrees all day. <em>  
><em><strong>Well I don't know- you're dead, you know everythin'! You're up there with all the good people! Ask her mama or someone to be with her or somethin'! She can't be alone out there no more!<strong>_  
><em>They always are, Daryl! Beth is out there survivin' 'cause she learned from the damn best, you got it?! You focus on keepin' these guys safe. It's the most you c'n do f'r now. <em>  
><em><strong>Right, Viv, fine... Fine...<strong>_  
><em>I know how hard your taking it out on yourself. You ain't had one nights sleep 'cause you been takin' everybody's damn beatin's. Ain't sayin' they deserved it, but you don't deserve getting sliced to pieces like a slab of bologna just because you took your eyes off of her for a split second. You gotta lay off yourself. Please, Daryl... Please<em>

_(_AN/ A longer chapter this time! I really do hope you guys are enjoying this! Thank you for all the support you are giving me! Love you all! Read and Review xx)


	11. Found Pt1

Chapter Eleven  
>Found Pt.1<p>

They had walked for so long. So long on the same terrain. No stones. Just sticks. The days weighed on them and with each hour, their bags seemed to gain in weight. They all lugged their bag from one shoulder to the other and back again, swapping occassionally, hoping for a lighter bag. Judith was shared around much like a bag, but a bag that could smile and push you on until the sky was dark. But before long they had reached the refuge of a church with the help of a man going by the name of Father Gabriel. Daryl would often exchange looks with Rick. Looks that read worried and attacked. But the church itself was nice. It was secluded and barely damaged, so still freshly white and wooden.  
>On the first day, Gabriel had led them inside to where they searched high and low for a reason not to stay. But it was all too good. They could find nothing on him and nothing in the church. Rick was the first to bring in a rucksack from outside. Then Carol followed, then Tyreese and then Glenn. If it was good for Rick, it was good enough for them.<p>

When Rick had lead part of the group out on a food run, Daryl stood with Carol at the front steps of the pristine church. Birds tweeted just like they had done before. The sun shone just like it had done and Daryl was promptly re-warmed. The was still an icicle that hung by his brain but with every day they moved with, it melted slowly into virtually nothing.  
>"Y'know, I don't trust 'im... He comes outta nowhere and just happens to be unscratched by this. It's not right..." Daryl said as he tossed rucksacks into the church door with Carol standing with Judith in her arms,<br>"Daryl, I'm sure he's fine. We have a roof over our head for the first time in a long, long while. Enjoy it!" She chuckled and bounced Judith gently around in her arms,  
>"Guess so..." Daryl hummed and picked up his own small bag he had aquired from Gareth, carrying it inside with Carol and Judith following close behind. Gently, he dropped his bag into the second back pew and took a seat, looking up to the grand gesture of Jesus on the wall. His hands dropped to between his knees and his head slowly bowed. Carol took the seat in front and turned slightly, resting Judith on top of the pew. She gurgled and excitedly moved. It pulled Daryl's lips into a smile and in time, he looked up into Judith's deep brown eyes. An overwhelming wave of comfort took over and Daryl picked her up, taking her gently into his arms. Jude continued to gurgle but looked up to him with such admiration. Daryl softly rocked her and bounced her and it was though day had turned to night in, what felt like, the blink of an eye.<p>

After the cans of food were set into the back room, everybody slowly came together. Merrily and gayly, the group tore open more than enough cans of food and popped the top off of a few bottles of communion wine before sitting around the candle lit altar in the flickering amber. Rick had already swiped Judith from Daryl long before Daryl even bothered to move towards the rest of the group and eat. For the first time in a long while, his mind no longer raced, his thoughts no longer screamed out at him and his heart returned to normal beats. Things within Daryl were peaceful and he couldn't quite understand how. Maybe because he was in such a sacred place. But, then again, anywhere with a fully functioning door and a strong roof was sacred at this point in the world. Daryl couldn't think of any other reason than that. He had heat and he had shelter, lots of food and he was surrounded by... that's right... not everyone.  
>"Come and eat! You need it!" Glenn chirped from the edge of the front pew, gesturing Daryl's bowl in his hand. Judith turned to the voice that called out and her eyes caught on to Daryl's. She bounced herself in Rick's hold with a sharp giggle. It was like she knew Daryl would come over and play with her. And she was right. Daryl wasted no time after Judith looked back to him to make his way down to the body of survivors. He took his bowl with a small smile from Glenn's hand and walked around the longest way to sit down beside Rick, Judith and Carl. His first spoonful of food was given to Judith as Rick fed himself the remains of his bowl. It sloppily fell from her mouth and down her chin which could only make Daryl's heart tinkle with warmth. A bolt of giddiness shot from his heart around his body giving him goosebumps at only Jude's clumsiness. After Daryl had fed her what had fallen down her chin, he stuck in himself to the chunks of what was meant to be chicken and bacon.<p>

It went down like slime but he grew to enjoy it over the coming minutes. Judith leaned from Rick's legs for another mouthful from Daryl and he just couldn't resist. It could've been her big brown eyes or her soft, round face. But he couldn't say no to her. When Rick wasn't looking, Daryl would feed her small spoonfuls and then, when Rick turned back, she would sit as proud as punch looking up to him.  
>"Y' full, huh?" Daryl smiled at her when she wouldn't take any more. Judith relaxed into her fathers legs and watched Daryl eat his scraps. There was a good feeling about having proper food in him. It was a feeling that made him feel like he could tackle lions and wrestle a gorilla. It was a good feeling. But, of course, he was far too tired to do anything other than lay down. His bowl was polished clean and handed back to Glenn. The groups hilarity slowly died down when Judith grew uncomfortable. Carl and Michonne took her off of Rick's hands and patrolled around the inside of the church with her. Gabriel came from one of the back rooms with a pile of blankets,<br>"They aren't the freshest, but they ought to do." He sat them on top of the altar between two large candles. Daryl picked up the scruffiest one then started to make his way back up to his pew with a book borrowed from Glenn. It wasn't until Daryl was comfortably propped up against the side of the pew, draped in the warm blanket, that he realised his choice of fiction. The Great Gatsby. Daryl huffed and rubbed his eyes.  
><em>A damn chick <em>book he thought to himself and looked over to Glenn as though to trade the book for something else more enthralling, like a piece of string. Daryl laughed in his head before rubbing at his growing stubble and opening up the first page with not the highest of expectations.

Sasha, Bob and Carol had their own corner of the Church, Glenn and Maggie had the two central pews and the DC crew walked round and round and round in circles, waiting for the first burst of action. Eugene sat idly on the pew in front of Daryl, not talking, barely moving and barely breathing. Rick appeared from one of the rooms with Judith freshly washed and clean in nice new soft clothes. Carl welcomed her to the floor and they lay beside each other with blankets around church was serene and, at a push, it was relaxed. Exhaustion filled the air in the candles radiant glow. They felt the heat on their skins and it just made them all the more tired.  
>Strongly,Michonne stood at the window behind Daryl, watching, waiting, longing. Surprisingly, Daryl was thoroughly enjoying the novel Glenn had handed him and was a couple of chapters in when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Michonne. A shiver ran through him before he ear-marked the page and looked up to her, "Look at this...I don't know if I'm seein' right..." She said with a smile which beared her top set of teeth. This rarely happened; only when she was truly happy. And, honestly, she had every right. They had a place of their own, for Heaven's sake.<br>Daryl got to his feet and removed the blanket from his shoulders in a grump, all the blood rushing to his legs and giving him a chilling sensation in his feet. Michonne stood behind him as he gazed out the window into the darkness. He saw nothing but trees outlined by the moon. Daryl shrugged and turned to Michonne with a disapproving look in his eyes, "What?" He questioned but Michonne turned him back with her hands on his shoulders, "'s it a deer or su'hin?" He whispered. But then, as the final word rolled from his tongue, he could see. Emerging from the treeline; the delicate flower. In the moonlight, a bluebell emerging from the dirt.

Daryl pushed off from the window ledge and went straight to the church door, nervously excusing himself past Espinosa. The door was left wide in his wake as he tottered down the four white steps onto the bark chips. As though he was paralysed with every emotion ever conceived, Daryl couldn't advance. His voice was slow in his throat,  
>"<em>Beth! You're alive!<em>" A voice called from behind him. Maggie first came from the door and then one by one, person by person, they piled past him to bring her closer to their home. And he could only stand with his arms by his side and his eyes so wide, so disbelieving but full of gratitude. Daryl let his eyes slip up to the sky and he said his thanks in to himself when everybody was ushering Beth inside. As he looked to the evening sky ad said his thanks, he could've sworn the smallest star in the sky got a little brighter; like it had heard his words. When his eyes fell back down to earth, he could barely catch a glimpse of her with everybody hurrying around her. Michonne stood at the bottom step and followed Daryl inside with her arms crossed. He made his way back to his pew and wrapped the blanket back around himself, gnawing at his thumb as he watched everybody gush over Beth's return. Daryl debated whether or not to continue reading on with his book or just turn over and go to sleep.  
>He stayed up and watched from the dark corner. A couple of times, Maggie's eyes fluttered over to him but didn't dare linger. It's not like he hadn't noticed. She read his fury. She could feel his relief but felt the fire intended for her. Feeling it right not to spoil Beth's return, Maggie made her way up to the corner and sat in the pew behind him,<br>"I'm-"  
>"Don't." Daryl cut her off abruptly with a slight headshake, "The only son'a'bitch who believed me was that damn boy down there beside his daddy. Y'all laughed and y'all ignored me. I know what y're gonna say and I ain't listenin'... Go back to y'r sister. Make use of what you got with her..."<br>There was a slight pause and the air between them shifted as Maggie let out a soft sigh,  
>"Thank you, Daryl." Maggie brushed off Daryl's stubbornness and her comment made him turn,<br>"For what?" His voice was low and quiet, slightly muffled by the thumb at his bottom lip,  
>"For gettin' her this far." She ended the conversation with a firm hand on his shoulder and a gentle kiss to his head.<p>

Maybe, after all this time, he had done _something_ right.

* * *

><p><em>(AN BETH IS BACK! I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I loved writing this one because of the anti-climax! She ain't gonna see him that easily! AGGH! I hope you liked it! I love you guys! Thank you for all the support and reviews and follows etc. I really appreciate it! Read and Review xx)_


	12. Found Pt2

Chapter Twelve  
>Found Pt.2<p>

During the night of her return; Daryl barely looked her way- he didn't even move from his bench. He thought it best to allow her to recover on her own; talk to whomever she wished.  
>With the book in his hands and his knees up at his chest, Daryl slowly slipped back into 1920's New York. The blur of frivolous conversation was drowned out by Gatsby and Daisy's intimate dialogue. Oh, how his heart bled for Gatsby's crushed heart that slowly came together again. How could Gatsby do it so easily? See her and his whole world returns to a happy medium? How?<br>Daryl's world merged with Gatsby's and almost, he felt like he was there, puffing on a Malboro in the Buchanan's dining room. A voice trickled through into the book,  
>"Hi..."<br>Daryl looked up quickly and his eyes met with her. They were always so blue and wide and she always seemed to have the most bewildered look on her face.  
>He hummed as a reply and she took a seat near him, "I-I didn't know you read..." She smiled gently and Daryl brought a hand from the book slowly up to his lips. He nodded and marked the page again before setting it down between them, "Oh... Gatsby-"<br>"'t's Glenn's. He let me borrow it. Y' can have it." Daryl stated and gestured to the book. Beth scootched in closer to him and the book,  
>"Daryl, I don't want the book right now." Beth's sincere voice rippled through him in the most comforting way. He looked to her with his thumb at his lips, "I wanna talk to you," She started and picked up the book, moving closer to him and bringing her knees up to her chest, "frankly, I don't wanna be babbled over anymore. They wanna know how I've got this far and how I done it... They don't care who I was with, what they did-"<br>"What _did_ they do?" Daryl quietly probed for an answer, his lips relaxed and waiting for the outburst after she answered. But Beth's eyes flickered up to his and her lips fell apart as though she was trying to find words. Daryl nodded and thought back to the day before. His words to Gareth. His warnings to Gareth. He could only pray Gareth came looking,  
>"I don't like to think about it... What matters is that I'm alright now." Beth's smile gave Daryl's burning hatred a cool blow of air, "C'n only forget, right?" She sighed and turned the first page of the book. Her eyes went over the words and flipped to the next a little too quickly. She whized through other pages before tossing it to the other side of the pew. Daryl took the blanket from his legs and offered it to her with one hand. Thankfully, Beth accepted but wrapped it around both her shoulders and his. They watched their surroundings quietly fall asleep and relax into gentle conversations,<br>"You got ta see Judy again." Beth muttered, remembering back to the night of the storm. Daryl blew a small laugh from his nose and nodded,  
>"Yeah, 'did! It w's like I wern't even gone!" Daryl's lips came to as smile when his eyes settled on a sleepy Judith in Carl's arms as he leaned against the altar. Beth's large doe-eyes locked onto Daryl's profile and it was harder by the second to look away.<br>"I know y're angry, Daryl. F'r not protecting me like you shoulda... Don't be angry anymore. Y' tried. Everyone know's y'did. I know y' did. A-And there's no way I can thank you enough for it! You're one of the good people left." With that, Beth pulled her eyes away from his face and focussed on Glenn stroking Maggie's hair. Daryl's heart gave an extra hard beat at the tail end of her words and he looked down at her,  
>"There's nothing to thank me for. You got here yourself. Y' didn't need me." Daryl hummed and watched Beth shake her head and laugh,<br>"Look, think of it how you want but you helped me and there's nothin' you can do to change that."  
>Daryl smiled at her boldness and ran his thumb across his bottom lip.<p>

"'m glad y're back" hummed Daryl and Beth looked up quickly,  
>"I'm glad you're here." She replied. They both smiled and looked back out over the scene together.<br>For a long while they sat up and talked about everything and nothing at all. It was all just words to kill the awkward silence of the church. Rick would often look up and caught the end of Daryl's laughter. Abraham would glance from his stance across the church and see how wrong he was.  
>"Know what I really miss?" Daryl started and flexed his feet which were up on the back of the pew in front of them, "Good mac n' cheese. None of the canned crap!" He chuckled but Beth sat up shaking her head, laughing,<br>"Nah, nah, Fritos! I miss Fritos!"  
>"Hey, you still get 'em if you look hard enough!" Daryl argued and leaned on his fist, propped up by the arm of the pew. Beth continued to shake her head,<br>"No, good Fritos that aren't months old and stale. Fresh Fritos!" She groaned and laughed at her longing.  
>"I miss... Hm... What else do I miss?" Daryl questioned himself and Beth sat up and looked right at him, their eyes meeting with the same passion,<br>"_Nutella_!" They groaned and pointed in sync.  
>"By the spoonful?" Daryl peered his eyes and smiled at her,<br>"By the fingerful!" Beth laughed and hid her face away in shame.

They all watched from their 'slumber' over their pews as Beth and Daryl cackled together, draped in the one blanket, not caring if their squawks attracted walkers or not. Rick perched beside Michonne and watched at the wide, bright smiles that had been missing for so long from the group. Beth would push at Daryl, completely unaware of the blackened skin and grazes beneath. Rick would wince everytime she would touch his shoulder or side. But Daryl didn't seem to notice. Her pushes brought no cries of pain and no sudden retreat into himself.  
>"It's what everybody needed." Michonne smirked at Rick who was still wincing, "Some laughs."<br>He shook his head with a weak smile and looked over at Judith and Carl, both watching Daryl's laughter in complete bemusement. "We ain't had it for a while. Not like this. That's real, that." She nudged Rick and moved with her blanket over to her pew. Rick laughed to himself for a bit before turning back to Carl and Judith,  
>"C'moan, don't stare," He smiled and gestured for Carl to come and sit beside him. Carl walked but didn't look from Daryl's direction,<br>"It's just weird, that's all." He said as he sat down and turned to face his dad, "what's goin' on? He's like forty!" Carl huffed and Rick laughed again and put his arm around his son's back, "It's not funny, dad!"  
>"Carl, everybody's gotta have somethin'. Everybody's gotta have a tonic!" Rick smiled down at his daughter and disregarded his son's strong grimace,<br>"But, dad-"  
>"But nothin'. Daryl's had everybody taken from him; his brother mainly. Beth's had everybody taken away too; her momma, her dad, her brother-"<br>"But she has Maggie-"  
>"Carl- you leave them be. Drop it!" Rick chuckled and gestured for the bed set up on the floor for him and Judith, "Get some sleep."<p>

"I don't like it..." Maggie hummed from her blanket in the bottom corner of the church.  
>"Yeah, you didn't like Jimmy either but that happened."<br>"Glenn, he's too old for her." Maggie quietly stated and pushed herself up against the wall, "It ain't right."  
>"Maggie, Daryl's a good guy. I think- now, hear me out here- I think your dad woulda liked him around Beth." Glenn said quickly and moved away from Maggie slightly,<br>"What?!" She asked with a disapproving frown,  
>"Well; think of everything he done for us at the prison; he done the vast majority of the runs, he went out for Judith's formula off his own back! Daryl is not a bad guy, Maggie! Beth sees that in him. We all do."<br>"Well, she's too young for him, then!" Maggie argued and looked over to her sister who was in stitches of laughter in the space beside Daryl, "She's only eighteen-"  
>"And look at her. She found her way here herself. She has a good head on her shoulders. She's a strong girl, Maggie! Why are you so against this?"<br>"I don't like the way he looks at her is all!"  
>"What, the way I look at you? The <em>same <em>way I look at you, Maggie." Glenn glared at Maggie and shook his head, "You look at them both and tell me that they make each other un-happy. That they make each other sick and angry... Oh, yeah... You can't because they don't!"  
>"Why are you on their side all of a sudden?" Maggie hissed and grit her teeth,<br>"Because they've both had such a hard going at this! They deserve some happiness! You ain't gonna stop that!"  
>"Oh, really?! She's my sister- what I say goes around here with her. I'm gonna talk to him in the mornin'." Maggie turned abruptly from Glenn's direction and immediately pushed herself to go to sleep. Glenn pushed away from Maggie completely and went to join Sasha and Bob who were still wide awake with conversation.<p>

Daryl turned conversation swiftly from life to the book he held in his hands. He poked fun at some of the language and some features of the book so far and Beth couldn't help but laugh at the sarcastic comments and snarky jokes.  
>"I find it horrible that Gatsby just dies like that, though!" Beth huffed out her laughter which started all over again when Daryl slowly turned his head to her, "Didn't get that far, did ya?" She covered her mouth and stifled a giggle. Daryl's hopeless smile turned into a laugh and he hung his head,<br>"I don't believe this shit!" He hummed,  
>"Oh, come on! I'm sorry! I didn't know!" Beth chuckled through her fingers and Daryl looked up to her, shaking his head. Beth let her laugh out fully and put her forehead onto his shoulder, "Sorry! I'm sorry I ruined the book!"<br>"Somehow, I don't believe you, Greene. When y' say that and laugh at the same time..."  
>"I am! I am sorry!" She was still laughing when she looked up to him. He wasn't laughing anymore. Her stomach done a flip. "Gimme the book." She smiled to split the tension. Daryl done so without breaking their eye-contact. But she did. Beth looked down to the book and flipped to the last few pages. <em>Thriiiip. Thriiiiip.<em>  
>"Now... you can create the ending you want." Beth handed him back the thinner novel and crumpled up the yellow-aged papers, shoving them into her back pocket, "So, will Gatsby get Dai-" Beth was cut off and taken by surprise by Daryl's large, bulky arms around her thin shoulders, his head resting on her neck.<p>

(AN/ YOU GUYS! I got very emotional writing the last two chapters. I didn't want anything to be too easy for them in this chapter. So I plucked for a tight embrace at the end. I really hope you guys enjoyed it and I hope I haven't kept you guys waiting too long! I'm so thankful for all of my readers, followers, reviewers etc etc! It all means the world to me! Read and Review! I love you guys!xx)


	13. Wormy

Chapter Thirteen  
>Wormy<p>

The next morning, everything was a hundred miles an hour. There was reinforcements being done on the windows and some pews were moved to the side of the church to make more room for everybody. Outside, scavenging occured and weapon reinforcements were made. Beth helped Daryl with digging holes across the muck; she would hold everything he didn't need and they would trade sometimes. "So why're y' doin' this?" Beth asked and glinted at him in the sunlight,  
>"Well... If there were any walkers, they'd hopefully walk into the hole and get stuck. It'd break their ankle so they can't move. Easier to round up."<br>"Oh. I'd never 'a thought 'a that. Clever!" She stated and Daryl handed her the shovel in exchange for the trowel,  
>"'m glad y' think so. 'Cause we're doin' it all day!" Daryl laughed and dug into the dirt as deep as the trowel would allow him to. From the steps of the church behind them, Maggie stood with her arms tightly crossed over her chest. Rick stood beside her with Judith and they both watched as Beth stopped Daryl abruptly from digging.<br>"Hey! Careful! Hey, little guy! What you doin', huh?" Beth crouched to the hole Daryl had dug and picked up the squirming worm in her hands. Daryl moved away slightly and swallowed hard, "What? Don't like 'em?" Beth laughed and got back to her feet, holding her hand out to Daryl who was trying not to look. Beth mocked and followed Daryl around the zig-zag of shallow holes with the worm in her hand,  
>"Heard y' talkin' t' Glenn last night" Rick's husky voice carried through to an upright Maggie with a stern face, "Y' can't just tear everything away again..." Rick defended and bounced Judith around gently, still watching Daryl and Beth, "I mean, y' can try, but everybody out here and everybody in there ain't gonna help ya."<br>"I feel like I'm the only one who sees the bad in this-"  
>"Nuh, uh, Carl does too and I'm gonna tell you exactly what I told him; everybody's gotta have somethin'. So suck it up and get on with it. We got bigger things to worry about-"<br>"But she's my sister-"Maggie scuffed her feet on the church steps and kept her voice low,  
>"And <em>he<em> is my brother," Rick turned to face her and tilted his head, "and y're not standin' in the way of anythin' anymore." He was harsh and it made Judith squirm in his arms. As though Maggie had ignored every word, she stepped down onto the dirt and called out to Beth,  
>"Beth! C'mon, need y'r help inside!"<p>

With that, Beth placed the worm in Daryl's mucked but capable hands and made her way over. Glenn appeared at Rick's side and stroked Judith's fine hair,  
>"She isn't going to listen, you know that." He sighed and Rick only glared over at Daryl with the small wriggling worm in his two hands, "She has something on her mind and she's going to say it. I'm just waiting for him to explode."<br>"He ain't gonna do that. I know it." Rick glanced down towards Glenn who was still stroking Judith's hair, "And if he does, we are gonna be right here, got it?"  
>Glenn nodded at Rick and took his hand from Judith, shoving them into his front pockets as Maggie welcomed Beth into the church and closed the door behind her sister. Her boots clunked on the wooden steps and dragged through the dry dirt over to Daryl who idly stood with his back to the sun. Rick and Glenn took in breaths through their teeth and watched on.<br>"Hey!" Maggie greeted with her hands loosely in her back pockets. Daryl hummed in return, watching the worm move in and around his hands, "What'd you think y're doin'?" She asked and turned to bask her face in the bright warm sunny glow. Daryl looked up from the mud and squinted,  
>"What?" He questioned,<br>"What do you think you're doin' with Beth?" Maggie snapped in almost a sweet way, her eyes blinded by the sun and a smile on her face. Daryl looked around, thinking about where this had suddenly all came from. Heck, last night, Maggie was practically kissin' his ass for keepin' Beth safe for so long. But now_ this_?!  
>"I don't know what y're gettin' at. But Beth's a good girl. She's a nice girl."<br>"And that's all she's ever gonna be for you. She's eighteen, Daryl-"  
>"Hey, hey! What do you think I am?" He questioned and shrugged his shoulders forward in a defensive manner but sure not to drop or hurt Beth's slimy little earthworm,<br>"Honestly? You want me to be honest?!" Maggie chuckled into the sunlight and Daryl stood with a sad frown, "Alright; I think you're a dirty redneck biker hick with a thing for younger girls..."  
>Daryl stood hurt in the sun with his brows overshadowing his eyes,<br>"After everythin' you said to me last night; 'bout keepin' her safe, lookin' out for her... Y' think I'm out to get her or somethin'?"  
>"That's exactly what I think. Without her daddy in the picture no more-"<br>"Don't go there, Maggie. You know I ain't like that!" Daryl pleaded and started to walk towards the church before Maggie's claws dug into his arm,  
>"I'm jus' sayin'; you keep your filthy hands away from my little sister or so help me god-"<br>"What?! You gonna kill me?!" Daryl shouted back with a wavering voice. Rick handed Judith to Glenn and put his hand to his revolver, making his way over to the duo,  
>"What's goin' on?" Rick asked aloof. Daryl looked up with sad, longing puppy eyes that had a sharp flame behind them,<br>"'m a sick redneck biker hick who likes little girls."  
>"Apple don't fall far from the tree, now, does it?" Maggie hissed and Daryl looked up, his frown pulling down his face. A whimper came from his throat, knowing if he fought back against Maggie, Beth wouldn't speak to him again. Wouldn't even acknowledge his presence.<br>"Hey, now, Maggie- you know Daryl has laid down absolutely everythin' he had to find her and bring her back to you-"  
>"I don't know what he's done to her when he was 'lookin' after her'!"<br>"If I _had _done what you're suggestin', she wouldn't have talked to me all night last night until the damn sun came up!" Daryl sunk his head to the ground and started to walk towards the treeline with the worm, "'m goin' on a run."  
>"Daryl, you need a weapon!" Glenn hollered,<br>"I DON'T!" He yelled back and walked away with the worm.

Rick squared up to Maggie who was fully fuming at the tall son'a'bitch, "You've really crossed that fine line. You couldn't have left them be. You know how he feels about her-"  
>"And I know how quick that can change to somethin' else. I'm doin' her a favour-"<br>"By sendin' Daryl away with no weapons, no food, no back-up?! God knows when this group will see the front of him again!" Rick argued quietly, "After everything he took back at Terminus, after every time he tried to warn us; every cut, bruise, gash and graze he has?!" Rick was like a raging bull with his hand still on his revolver as the church doors creaked open,  
>"Daryl?" Beth wondered, her full body slowly emerging onto the steps beside Glenn, "Where's Daryl?" She asked and shaded her eyes from the sun with her other hand on her hip. Maggie guiltily stood beside Rick and went to speak, "Where did he go?!"<br>"Beth, I done what's best!" Maggie started back for the church, dodging the holes,  
>"Maggie! Why?! He wasn't doin' anythin' wrong!" Beth argued and ran down the steps onto the grass where her sister met her,<br>"Beth, I had to do what was right. He wasn't good for you-"  
>"W-what? Y-you sent him away because we had a conversation?! Because we get each other, Maggie?!" Beth had tears fighting in her eyes and Maggie put her hands onto her sisters shoulders,<br>"Beth, I done what was best for you!"  
>"Maggie! You don't know him like I do! He is one of the kindest people in this crowd! How could you?!"<br>"Beth, please listen to me-"  
>"No, Maggie, you listen to me! Daryl Dixon is the nicest person I know. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here with you again! He pulled me through all the shit and the dirt and this is how you thank him?!"<br>"Beth, you don't really know him!" Maggie pleaded and gripped on tight to Beth's shoulders. Beth took a couple of deep breaths before gesturing to Glenn,  
>"And you really know <em>him<em>? You shacked up more times than you had a good nights sleep-" With that, Maggie sharply smacked Beth's left cheek bone and for a second, felt powerful; in control. But as she saw Beth cradle her cheek and step back from her, Maggie crumbled,  
>"Beth... Beth, honey... Beth, I'm so so sorry, I'm sorry!" She pleaded again but Beth dropped her hand and went up to the porch, grabbing one of the long knives that had been acquired from Terminus. Beth confronted Maggie for a final time and glared deep into her sister,<br>"When I come back with him; which I will, no thanks to you and your big mouth- you do not look at him, you don't talk to him, you don't even think about him, Maggie. You leave _me_, and, you leave him alone." Beth's anger radiated to Maggie and she knew she was wrong. When Beth was walking towards the woods with the large knife, Maggie realised just how tight knit her and Daryl were.

As Beth entered the treeline that Glenn had gestured towards, Rick hollered,  
>"You need someone with you, Beth!"<br>Beth replied, fighting through leaves and branches, "I don't!"

"Why, I gotta haunt her damn dreams after that!" Vivian shouted, walking furiously behind Daryl with large strides to keep up, "How dare she?! Who the fu-"  
>"Viv, don't. It ain't worth it... She'I'm over it anyway." Daryl huffed and pushed more dirt into his hands for the little worm to play around in. Vivian kicked the dirt beneath her feet,<br>"Damn! I gotta just show up and smack her around!"  
>"You don't gotta do that. It's only Maggie." Daryl defended quietly and continued walking further into the deep forestry,<br>"Nah, nah- I'll fucking show up and be like; "_hey, heard you were talkin' smack about my baby brother_" and she'll be all like; "_who are you_?" and I'll be like; "_his damn sister. Fight me!""_Her outrage and impressions made Daryl laugh and pull up to a fallen tree stump, "I'm serious! Nobody talks to you like that and thinks it's okay! I swear to the Big Guy up There, I will-"Vivian gestured to the sky and Daryl shook his head with a thin, hurting smile  
>"You're not gonna do anythin'. It's just Maggie. She'll get over it in a few days."<br>"And you're so sure about it?" Viv sat beside him and watched the little worm still move around, "Why do you have _that_ anyway?"  
>"Me and Beth were diggin' holes and she asked me to watch it when she went inside..."Daryl smiled down at his hands and Vivian put her hands to her chest,<br>"So with Maggie yellin' and your face trippin' you, you didn't let this little guy fall or die or nothin'?"  
>"Nope."<br>"And Maggie doesn't think you're a good guy after all of that?"  
>"Nope."<br>"Well, damn. She is one hard nut, isn't she?"  
>"Yeaaaah, but, jus' gotta let her have it-"<br>"But, Daryl, why do you just buckle under?!" Viv questioned and stroked the small worm in her brother's hands,  
>"Heck, I don't know! 'Cause if I fight back, Beth'll get upset that we aren't gettin' along or somethin' like that. She don't deserve to be upset." Daryl sighed and looked up when some branches were crunched into the earth. He quickly shuffled all of the dirt and the worm into one hand as he readied his other.<br>"Daryl?!" She called from some few yards away. His hand relaxed down and the dirt was evenly shared between them again as he awaited her arrival.

_(AN/ There you have it you guys. Some nice fireworks! I've waited so long to write out this chapter and it came out better than I had hoped! I really hope you guys have enjoyed it so far and I'm so thankful for the support! If you have any ideas for future chapters please leave a review or PM me! Thank you guys so much! I love you! Read and Review!xx)_


	14. You

Chapter Fourteen  
>You<p>

The leaves were scrunched under her boot as she took a step closer to finding Daryl sitting idly on a fallen log. "DARYL-"  
>"'m here!" He huffed to her and Beth stopped in her tracks, listening for more sound, "Beth..." His voice lead her through the roughage to his fallen tree. He had displaced the mound of dirt and the wriggling worm on top of the log as he carved into its side with a sharp rock.<br>"Hey, you..." She sighed and walked slowly towards him, trembling with fear in case he lashed out, swung for her and clawed at her. But he didn't move. Daryl reminded Beth of one of the kids she would look after during her work experiences at different day-cares. No matter where she went, there was one. The one kid that sat away from the others, would scrawl paint all over their paper and wipe his hands on his cargos afterward. But now, with permanently stained jeans and a sharp rock instead of a brush, the young introvert sat. Daryl hummed in reply and didn't seem to flinch when the groan of a walker popped out of nowhere. It was far off enough for Beth to sit with him and try and drag him back to camp.  
>"Daryl..."<br>"Nah...Don't even try," He snapped in a quiet voice.  
>"Daryl! Come on! She didn't know what she was sayin'-"<br>"Don't d'fend h'r. She's righ'. Y' don' me hangin' over y'-"  
>"Daryl, you aren't!" Beth's brows were knit together tightly and she almost scowled at Daryl before noticing that the worm had wriggled out of the dirt. Her heart swelled and her eyebrows relaxed. Beth reached out her hand to pick up the worm and for a few moments, she debated her next move. After putting the frown back on and gently slapping Daryl's shoulder, Beth thrust the worm in his face until he looked up, "If anythin', y're hangin' over <em>him<em>! Y're hangin' over Wormy!" Her scorn turned into a bright smile which Daryl copied but only slightly. A laugh escaped his throat which he coughed off to nothing but Beth retracted her arms proudly. They sat for a while watching the worm in Beth's creamy white hands before she spoke, "If you were to leave... You'd have to come back with me and get _supplies_ and say 'bye' to everyone..."  
>"Nah. I could take off in <em>that<em> direction and you'd go in the other direction. I could survive-"  
>"Daryl..." Beth started to plead as though fighting a losing battle, but she shrugged it off and put on her strong voice, "Look. Fine. If you<em> really<em> want to leave this group because of _Maggie_- of all people- then... finish digging the holes withme. Can't leave any unfinished business behind you."  
>"So I'm y're workhorse now?" Daryl chuckled darkly to himself and Beth shrugged silently.<br>Daryl tilted his head to look at her. She raised a brow and pressed her lips together, "It'd help the group a lot..." Beth went on to drone when Daryl turned back to chipping at the bark of the tree. "We could find Wormy a family..." She continued and caught a glimmer of Daryl's smile from under his hair.  
>"If I come back, will you stop callin' him Wormy?!" He asked in almost an angry manner. Beth widened her eyes as Daryl spoke again, "God...His name is <em>Eric<em>!"Daryl laughed which gave Beth a sigh of relief.  
>"Yes! Promise!" She quickly said and got to her feet. Beth offered out one of her hands to help him up as the worm danced around in her other.<p>

There was a rush to the church windows and door. People climbed over one-another to investigate Abrahams gun-cock. Beth eventually emerged with Daryl just behind, the worm still in tact in her hands. Rick turned to Michonne, who then turned to Maggie who was sitting on Daryl's pew, staring at the large Jesus statue on the front wall. The bright sun shone down on them both back out in the greenery, resuming what they had started. Rick took his hand from his gun eventually and took a step out into the sunshine. Carl and Tara followed behind, armed with other tools to reinforce the outsides of the windows and door. Rick instructed them to start out back, taking Abe and Espinosa for back-up. The foursome went swimmingly. Like nothing before had happened, Daryl was thudding into the dirt and Beth was holding the trowel for him. Proudly, Rick stood out on the steps with his hands on his hips, overseeing the duo. "Hey... What's gonna happen now? He left and it didn't look like he was comin' back." Michonne was quiet with her words, trying not to let Maggie hear,  
>"Yeah, well, sometimes things change. I'll talk to him later. Make sure it's all ironed out." Rick was smiling gently out at them both but it slowly melted when there was a screech of wood on wood and a gurgle from Judith.<br>"I gotta apologise." Maggie said from behind him.  
>"Nope. Y' don't. Beth said leave 'em alone so you leave 'em alone... But then, you won't listen to me so why should you listen to her?" Rick seethed at Maggie before hopping down the steps and going round to the back of the church to be with Carl.<p>

"Trow'l..." Daryl muttered and lay down the shovel beside the dirt pile and held out his muddy hands. An uneasy groan came from Beth and she slowly placed it into his hand, "W's goin' on?" He laughed, having to take a second look up at Maggie coming towards them both. The laughter was non-existant now as Daryl straightened up, throwing the trowel down beside the shovel.  
>"What?!" Daryl almost shouted, clearly hurting from her words of poison earlier. Maggie shook her hands out in front of her and looked Beth in the eye,<br>"I just want to apologise-"  
>"Like you did <em>last night<em>?! Apologies don't meant shit to you, Maggie!" Daryl argued and threw down his hand, Beth slowly moving between them both.  
>"I meant it last night and I want to mean it now, Daryl!" She retaliated with deep, sad eyes. Daryl shook his head and turned to face the sun for a second,<br>"Maggie, I told you- leave us both alone. We are fine alone, believe it or not." Beth stepped forward towards Maggie and put her hand on her shoulder, "Please. I'm safe out here. I'm safe now. I've got this."  
>Maggie rubbed her lips and scruched her hair back off of her face before taking a step back with a nod. <em>Thank you<em> Beth mouthed before Maggie strutted away back in to the church. Beth sucked air through her teeth and spun on her heel to make her way towards Daryl. "I'm sorry..." She sighed.  
>"No. She cares. Like everybody else does..." Daryl defended after taking in a couple of calming breaths, "She wants you to be safe."<br>"I am safe with you. And she knows that." Beth looked up to Daryl in the sun and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Can it just stay like this?" Beth hummed to herself and pushed back off of his shoulder to put her hands on her hips. "Warm and sunny. It's perfect." Beth fluttered her eyes closed and felt the warm air around her. As best as she could, she ignored the buzz of insects around her and he stench of death everywhere.  
>"It's Georgia." Daryl bluntly said with a smile in his voice. Beth opened one eye and glanced to him, "It's always warm and sunny in Georgia!". She shook her head and smiled before looking back to the sun,<br>"You know what I mean!" She laughed, "Everything to stay still and warm and no more people storming off!" She peeked out of one eye again and seen Daryl smiling to himself with his hands in his pockets, "Y're needed here, Daryl. We wouldn't be here without you." Beth whispered to him, taking her hands away from her hips and going to him, gently pressing her lips to his shoulder.

Where her lips touched his olive skin, it set alight the rest of his arm and then the rest of his body. It wasn't a painful, blistering burn. It was satisfying, like the internal burn after an intense work out you had done the day before. Where you could feel every muscle, joint and tendon squeak and creak all at once. Daryl could feel it even standing still, rooted to the ground, he felt everything jolt inside of him.  
>"Come on. Let's finish diggin' and get somethin' to eat." She sighed onto his skin and patted his arm ever so softly, her fingertips lingering at his bronzed shoulder. The tips slid down the rest of his arm slowly and then Beth continued on digging with the trowel.<br>Daryl brought his hand out of his dirty pocket and reached across his collar bones to grip onto his shoulder like it was suddenly going to dislocate itself and drop to the floor. What was once frozen deep inside of him now started to glisten in the heat of her lips on his skin which seemed to be everlasting.

(AN/ This chapter was kind of slow, I know, I'm sorry. But I'm glad you're still reading this far so that's something I'm doing right. Thank you all so much for your support and everything that comes with it! I love you guys! Thank you! Read and Review!xx)


	15. Trouble

Chapter Fifteen  
>Trouble<p>

The nights were getting colder and in the mornings, the grass was often crystalised. It was agreed one night during a fine meal of canned beans and sausages that everybody within the church would sleep in a huddle in the centre of the church floor to consume the heat.  
>Coming in from his outwardly patrol around the church and the wooded areas, Abraham set down his rifle at the door once it was locked. Candles flickered around the perimeter of the church floor and over the top of the altar. In the centre of the space was just a mound of blankets and backpacks. Glenn was already sleeping in at Maggies neck and Judith and Carl were the same on either side of Rick who was propped up with a backpack. Daryl had one arms behind his head and his legs crossed over each other whilst he read through the pages of <em>Gatsby<em>. Gabriel was saying his nightly prayer happily at the altar. Abraham joined the spiral of the group and wrapped his own blanket around him before shuffling deep into the centre of the crowd and falling fast asleep comfortably. Despite every other person suitably relaxed, Beth and Michonne walked around the church.  
>"Y'all wanna stop doin' that!" Eugene muttered making Michonne turn and watch him, mid-walk. "First sign of goin' crazy. Routine."<br>"You'll know I'm crazy if I start walking against the current." Michonne shot back. Beth chewed on a thumb nail, thinking hard about everything she could. Michonne lowered her hostility and apologised for snapping, "Nobody's been sleeping right. What's a bed without a pillow?..."  
>"We make do with what we have," Rick smiled up to her. It came to Beth quickly and it was out in the air before her brain could process the idea,<br>"Some of us could go on a run..." She suggested and people started to look towards her. Daryl set his book on his chest and peered his eyes, "We'll be here for a while so why don't we get things to make it more home-y... Could get some _pillows_, maybe change of clothes for everyone..." Beth's uncertainty was clear in the shake of her voice when nobody replied to her idea, "We go maybe in groups of four?" She now looked at Rick who's eyes were calculating. She could see the cogs of his brain effortlessly turn. Rick took a breath.  
>"'lright... Tomorrow morning. Me, Beth, Carol and Glenn'll go and see what we can see." Rick stated. Nobody seemed to argue. Daryl looked over to Rick and spoke up,<br>"'ll go a hunt. We need real food."  
>"Alright. Just a day hunt." Rick agreed and his partner turned back to facing the wall.<br>"Good call, Beth." Maggie mumbled up to her sister with a limp smile. Beth smiled back warmly,  
>"<em>I<em> thought so."

Bright and early the following morning, Rick and his followers left the cosy church quietly and left the others to sleep. The cold air and the even colder growing breeze was a smack in the face for each and every one of them. Glenn offered his sweater to Carol who greatly appreciated the gesture but declined, knowing the day would get warmer eventually. But Beth, on the other hand, reluctantly accepted Daryl's woolen poncho. Beth wrapped her arms around herself and walked after Rick and Carol tiredly. Glenn marked the trees they passed with a bulky stick of chalk and prayed for a dry day. The huddle had been walking for no more than thirty minutes when Rick stopped them at a small opening. He turned to Daryl instinctively,  
>"You come back here and you wait for us to arrive, alright? We'll do the same." Rick ordered. A nodding Daryl took in his surroundings. It was seemingly quiet but the twittering of birds and the scuttling of rodent were apparent. Rick pulled a map from his back pocket. It wasn't as large as the one they used back on the farm but it was marked to perfection with meeting points, lakes and even some nearby mountains. Rick held it to Daryl's stomach and it was swiped into Daryl's front pocket. Rick gave him a nod, his eyes strong and powerful for the time of morning. It surprised Daryl a little that Rick was so motivated to go and find <em>pillows <em>of all things!  
>They patted Daryl's shoulder one after the other for luck and a fruitful hunt and made way behind Rick, but Beth waited behind. As Daryl adjusted his crossbow, Beth handed him a small knife. He looked at her befuddled,<br>"Just in case there's not enough arrows." She said but Daryl started to shake his head. Beth took his hand and opened up his palm before placing the handle of the knife in it. Her fingers closed his over and she tiptoed to peck his cheek, "Be careful." He hummed back in response, now gripping the knife tightly in his hand. She jogged to catch up with Rick and in only a few moments, they were gone in search of better things.

Back with the others, all way quiet and all was hungry. Their scavenging was lacking. They had only passed a run down old shack which was pretty much cleared out. Few of them lost hope. Glenn was the only one full of life by the time the sun was fully up. He lead most of the way since they had left Daryl behind.  
>"Hey!" Glenn whispered out to the others from a couple of yards away, "I think it's a house!"<br>The others, who had stopped to rest for a couple of minutes, made their way slowly over to Glenn. He was edging around the opening of the trees, "It's a backyard!" He laughed and brought out his knife just like the others. Glenn lead the way into the backyard and it was Rick who walked off further excitedly,  
>"It's a goddamn caul de sac!" He laughed. Glenn, Beth and Carol walked together and met with Rick at the front of the house. Around them were tall white houses with empty driveways and knocked over garbage cans. It seemed untouched. "Carol, you and Glenn can take that house there and the garage too. Beth, we can do the one over the road. We'll get you back here in fifteen minutes." Rick was now matching Glenn in frivolity. It brought a small smile to Carol's face. The pack split in half and took on the houses. Beth lead Rick to the opposing house that Glenn and Carol were searching. She readied herself on the front porch with Rick's small pocket knife as he rattled on the door. Everything was quiet. And so they proceeded into the home that was just gushing with expense. Mahogany flooring and genuine Persian rugs. Rick whistled in awe at the surroundings whilst Beth delicately traced her fingers over picture frames in the front hall.<br>"Right, we don't need food or nothin' like that. We still got enough cans back at the church. What are we out here to get, boss?" Rick smiled with his hands on his hips. Beth took a second to realise that he was talking to her,  
>"Oh, me!" She laughed and adjusted Daryl's large poncho on her small shoulders, "Erm... Well, we need pillows. Michonne doesn't shut up about the crick in her neck from sleepin' on her pack!" Beth smiled and looked around, trying to find anything else the group might need, "Whatever else you think we need-"<br>"No, you tell me. Whatever you say; we will pick it up." Rick assured and moved over to her, "It's good you called for this, Beth. We've all needed a real good stretch out." He placed his hand on her shoulder before eventually bringing her into a hug.  
>"You done a good thing for Daryl the other day. Standin' in like that. We all heard inside." Beth sighed when Rick pulled away from her,<br>"Beth-"  
>"No, I'm serious. Even after everything that's happened, you're not afraid to set the law right with us."<br>"Well... Can't let everything go to shit over one person's opinion, right?" Rick chuckled and pushed Beth's shoulder gently, "C'mon. Let's go get some pillows." He smiled and the smile was returned with even a nod. Beth made her way up the tall set of stairs to the second floor with Rick only a few steps behind. Cautiously, the knife was gripped tightly in her hand as she made her way to the first bedroom. Rick searched the other bedroom whilst she worked in the one. Everything was so grand and perfect, Beth even felt a little bit guilty at taking the pillows and a couple of shirts from the closet just in case the family was going to come back. But she couldn't dwell. She didn't. Rick shouted for her in another room and quickly, she dashed to him.

_Walkers_. Lots of walkers. Hanging from the ceiling with dingy ropes around their neck. Rick was only at the door of the bedroom but his face was ghostly white. It had been so long since any of them had seen walkers in such a vast amount but Beth was feeling particularly brave. Her bag was thrown to the side along with the couple of pillows she had grabbed. Rick could only watch and sweat a cold sweat as Beth got down to the ground. She army crawlled underneath the walkers to the bed that remained untouched where she stood again. Rick evaluated during Beth's mission for pillows and shirts and underwear. The room was in good shape, apart from the dozen of walkers dangling down on thin ropes. Their groans were deafening to a nervous Rick. Beth's courage inspired something within him to kill the walkers where they hung. And so he did. His knife was raised high as he jabbed one, two and then three walkers. But, on the fourth stab, peices of the ceiling started to crumble and fall down around him, "Beth! C'mon! We gotta go!" He called to her in the closet. She came out backwards, struggling with a walker at arms-length. Beth had clothes between her teeth and a pillow under an arm. The further she stepped back, the more likely it was for her to knock a hanging walker and bring the whole house down. "Beth! You gotta keep still for a second! Just hold them there!"  
>"I dropped the knife, Rick! It's in the closet!" She called back to him, her voice muffled with the clothes, almost crying with fear, "What do I do?!" She asked when the walker was getting more bitey with her.<br>"Try and knock 'im down! Kick 'im down!" Rick shouted to her with more ceiling pieces falling, "C'mon, Beth!"  
>There was a long struggle before the walker was pushed down, its neck snapping on the edge of the bed, making it easier for Beth to crush its skull with her boot.<p>

"It's been twenty minutes..." Carol paced around the garage of the house that had just been looted. Glenn wasn't too phased. They were big houses.  
>"They're right there. C'mon." Glenn chuckled when he strolled past Carol and met Rick and Beth halfway. Rick seemed frantic over Beth, "What happened in there? What's going on?" Glenn queried, throwing his bounty over his shoulder. Beth caught her breath and let Rick explain. The shock had thrown him so Beth filled in the gaps.<br>"Lots of walkers. A very weak house. Lots of stuff for camp." She bullet-pointed and smiled at Rick who had colour growing in his face again, "There's some shirts and boxers, some socks, a couple of pillows. Rick has some chocolate in his pack, some matches and a couple of bags of chips too!" Beth was proud of her mornings work but was now more than prepared to get back to camp in time for breakfast.  
>"We got some couch cushions, an iPod with a charge so these guys must not have left long ago. The battery is like, what, eighty-percent?" Glenn looked to Carol who amusingly nodded, "So there's that, we can track the time. We took the charger just in case, you know?"Glenn shrugged and thought as Beth lead the way back to camp, "We found a couple of books, got some of those, another blanket- but it's like huge; like four people max. under it, y'know?" Glenn laughed whilst the rest of the pack took a deep breath of relief at the end of their ordeal,<br>"We had a couple of walkers but they were easy enough to kill. Got a couple 'extra candles too! So, there's that." Carol added as they trecked back through the forestry to their meeting point with Daryl. The group walked back in good spirits, excited for a belly full of food upon arrival.

As they approached the meeting point not far from the church, a swift _'chue_ sound whistled through the air above them and a large, beefy bird fell from a branch. Beth clutched her chest as though her heart would jump out and run away in fright.  
>"Did I scare ya?" Daryl mocked, stepping out from tall bushes to approach the bird that lay in the centre of the group. Carol rolled her eyes and tried to regulate her heart beats and Rick just patted Daryl on the back for his safe return. Glenn was the only one not smiling. Daryl picked up the bird and went to him, a finger pulling at the corner of Glenn's mouth,<br>"What if you had shot one of us?!" Glenn asked and took Daryl's hand from his mouth,  
>"I've been following that bird for the past twen'y minutes. Believe me, I wouldn't of shot you!" Daryl smiled and ripped the arrow out of the bird's chest whilst taking lead of the group,<br>"What else did you find?" Beth chirped up and gripped the straps of her bag tightly,  
>"Well, 'found a fox, beautiful thing; and 'found couple'a chipmunks" Daryl smiled, plucking the feathers from the bird as they walked, "they're already at the church. Just came back out to wait on you guys comin'." He looked down at her and of course, as always, her big, blue doe-like eyes were watching him, "What'd you find?" He hummed. Beth took a deep inhalation and focussed on the path ahead,<br>"Well, we got some cushions, pillows- we found a neighbourhood, so- there's clean underwear, socks, shirts _and_ I got you_ these_..." Beth swung her pack around to her front and rummaged for the tiny carton still in their film. "'Cause you've been given a hard time-" Beth smiled and handed the pack of cigarettes to Daryl,  
>"Lucky Strikes! How'd you know?!" Daryl laughed quietly to himself,<br>"Found 'em in a closet under a pile of cheque books. There's matches in my bag too for 'em,"  
>"Y'shouldn'a went through the trouble..." Daryl looked down to her with sympathetic eyes, "You didn't have to."<br>"Daryl, it's fine. It was no trouble. Really." Beth smiled up to him and eased him into a chuckle which brought his hand with the bird around her shoulder and a peck to the top of her head as a '_thank you_'.

* * *

><p><em>(AN So there you have it! Chapter fifteen! I'm so glad you guys enjoy this fic! I can't thank you all enough for the support! I love you all! Read and Review!xx)_


	16. Lori

Chapter Sixteen  
>Lori<p>

_What fresh hell is this? What?! No! No! I was completely in control of this! Why did he have to just go and thank me like that?! No! God! I had this! _Beth screamed furiously into herself, walking back to the church with Daryl and the others. Daryl's arm was still draped around her like fine linen, his hand tight on her shoulder with the bird dangling. "Lucky Strikes, damn!" He would chuckle to himself and shake the packet in front of him a couple of times. Beth would smile at his appreciation and it would sometimes completely envelope her mind that her feet would lose track of where they were going and she would trip over nothing.  
>"Where's that fox, Daryl?" Rick sped past him when they approached the church.<br>"Just lay it out 'front. Them stone steps." Daryl replied and took his arm from Beth's small shoulders to lead Rick in the right direction. Beth clumsily dragged her feet through the leaves, ignoring the burn from Glenn's stare only a couple of feet behind. The early morning sun stroke through the trees and fell upon the white church where all hell was seeming to break loose. There was disturbed shouts and calls from inside. When the threesome came down the side of the church, they peered in the window at Rick who was aiming his gun and shouting god knows what. They picked up the pace and immediately tossed their baggage to the side when they stepped in. It was empty. Carl was quietly feeding Judith on a pew against the wall as Michonne stood tall with her sword beside one of the two back doors. "Now you tell me where-in-gods-name they went!" Rick demanded with the gun flush against Gabriel's temple. The nervous man was sweating and shaking. Like a shadow, Daryl moved around the space that had been left behind, crossbow at his side and the bird still in his hand.  
>"Look, hey! Abraham took them to DC with Eugene. They took the bus."Tara spoke up from a corner, "They told me to wait behind and let you guys know then meet them a few miles down the road..."<br>"B-But Maggie wouldn't have left..." Glenn whimpered, "We said together!"  
>"Look around," Rick took him to the side quietly and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Maggie's gone. Alright?" Rick's looks flickered between Glenn and Beth but Beth was too busy unpacking to bother her shirt-tail about who was there or here and why, "We're just gonna have to get stronger here ourselves until we hear something..."<br>"Hear what?! Nothing works, man! There's no electricity! No phone lines!" Glenn lashed away from Rick and went to the small bathroom which Michonne was guarding. Daryl paced for a few steps before looking to Rick for instructions, but the bearded man had nothing. As though defeated, Rick stood hunched and with his head in his hands.  
>"They must'a been plannin' to go..."Daryl mumbled and he looked down from Rick.<br>"Alright. Everybody together, c'moan! Hustle!"Rick called like a coach calling a team meeting, "Glenn! C'moan!". Everybody gathered slowly; even Father Gabriel took a place within the team but Glenn had made no movement from the bathroom. "Alright. Here's how it's gonna work; Carol, Carl, Michonne and I will stay- get this place secured real tight, Beth, Daryl; you're goin' a run- try and find medical supplies, we'll need 'em if it's just four or five of us. Tara; you run and you catch up with Maggie and Abraham. They'll need people on the road-"  
>"I'm going with her! I'm going to find Maggie!" Glenn shouted from the locked bathroom door. Its lock unclicked and he swung it open with a gust of air flushed up to his face, "I'll go too."<br>Rick nodded and the group split to different areas of the church. Daryl took Beth to an empty space and lay out the large map from his back pocket on the floor. They both scanned over it and Daryl scrawled directions onto it with a blunt pencil, "So this is wh're y' got to today..." Daryl muttered and circled an area on the map,  
>"And I think there's a town or somethin' just a few miles over." Beth pressed a finger above the rough circle and Daryl nodded,<br>"Alrigh'. We'll go there. If th' houses ain't touched, the stores might be th' same." Daryl looked up at her and they both nodded with each other before jumping to their feet and grabbing empty bags.

Rick bid each person adieu at the doors of the church as they went in different directions. Tara carried weaponry as Glenn carried a large rucksack of supplies. Beth carried Daryl's crossbow and he held onto her knife tightly with a bag slung over one shoulder. "You think they'll come back with anything?" Carol asked from beside Rick, arms crossed and a smile on her face. Rick shook his head and laughed,  
>"I think they'll get everything. Don't worry 'bout it!" He looked up at her and smiled.<p>

Beth was storming ahead of Daryl, well past the meet-up point from earlier, crossbow not even tainting her with its weight. She huffed and she puffed with each step trying to reach the houses from before in no time at all. Daryl pressed his lips together, daring to speak a word to the rampaging blond before him. Beth would let out a grunt every so often and would lash out at herself every time she got caught in branches or cobwebs, "Hey, 're you alright?" Daryl asked calmly, almost taking a step back in case she took it out on him. Beth stopped just when they reached the treeline of the houses and turned to him with wide eyes. Her chest was heaving and her nostrils were flaring. Daryl definitely stepped back onto his foot and toyed around with a fallen leaf waiting for her to speak. "I am not alright, Daryl! I am not." Beth said, immediately taking down a walker with no hassle at all with the crossbow. It fell not far behind Daryl and he took a step forward when he seen her eyes water up, "I am not alright with people just leaving anymore, Daryl! I am not alright knowing that you brought back a fantastic catch and nobody is there to even eat it! I am not happy that everybody had planned this! I am not alright!" Beth fell to tears and the crossbow fell to her feet and it leaned on her calves. Daryl watched in fright at the outburst, debating talking anymore or just staying silent. Beth brought her hands to her face and she caught her breath in a couple of pants before starting again, "I am not alright that Maggie doesn't tell me these things! I'm just not happy that my own sister doesn't even treat me like a sister!" Beth rubbed her eyes and picked up the crossbow almost immediately before starting for the caul-de-sac. Daryl took after her but not before taking a glance at the walker which had came from nowhere behind him.

He caught her eventually at the centre of the street and his rough hand gently tugged her shoulder back, "Beth! Hey!" He sighed and spun her delicately. Her red eyes couldn't look at him but when he took both of her shoulders into his mucky shovel-hands, she glanced up at him, "Hey, look..." He started, "Beth, it's alright to not be alright sometimes. Okay?" Daryl weakly smiled and laughed, "You just gotta show her what you can do without her. Gotta show her that you don't always need her, even when you really, really do. Y' gotta show her that you've got it, alright? That you've got it covered yourself?" Daryl gently shook her shoulders for a smile, but it wouldn't appear, "Well, shit, Beth. C'mon, when she's out savin' the world- a world that probably won't be saved-, you've been here savin' our asses no matter what! That's what matters,"Daryl was now on his knees looking up to her, "This is all of us. On our damn knees! We are all kissin' your ass because we don't wanna do you wrong,"  
>"Daryl, get up! I got it!" Beth laughed and wiped away a tear,<br>"No, we can't do you wrong, Beth! We just can't. Like, yeah, we can pick a fight with Maggie and maybe win, but with you, with you, Beth- there's no hope!" Daryl smiled and Beth nodded in agreement. Daryl got up and she tightly hugged him. Almost frozen, Daryl stood and let her calm down, "If it makes y' feel better, y' can sing all the way to the town?" Daryl laughed and Beth copied,  
>"I don't wanna sing."<br>Her words broke a piece of Daryl that he didn't even know he had. It was somewhere in the strained and over-worked chest of his but it radiated all over him, making a pinpoint difficult. It broke easily like glass but fell deep into his stomach like a lead weight. Deep concern washed over him but he continued to smile for Beth. "Thank you..." Beth sighed and softly hit her head against his chest, "I'm really sorry I shouted. I feel like all I do is yell at you." She pulled away and wiped her eyes, "I mean, I yelled at you back at the house when you had done nothing wrong. I shouted at you now for nothing again! I don't understand why you still bother!" Beth took her hands away from her face to look at a hollow Daryl. He was stunned for words and his open mouth made no noise. His head shook and Beth shrugged, fluttering her eyes to stop her crying before taking her knife from his pocket and moving away from the street to the trees behind the house Rick and her tore through.

Daryl followed her with the crossbow and called to her, "I do it because I don' think you deserve the treatment you get! I mean, it's not y'r fault that you w'r taken and y' couldn't come back to Maggie. None of this is fair on ya!"  
>"So you keep talking to me out of pity?! Is that why you bother? You think because Maggie stops talking to me that it's the end of the world for me?!" Beth harshly turned back to him, a flash of hate filming her eyes,<br>"No! I think y' could use a friend! That's what I think!" Daryl fought back and he had to refrain from shouting any louder when he heard some walkers grumble from a darker corner of the trees, "Y'know, that's why I bother! I've been on your side since the first damn day, Beth! Ever since the prison! Since the day Lori died, I turned to you! The day we really lost someone!" Daryl stopped her in her tracks but he kept walking ahead, himself now on a rampage. Beth followed behind quickly in the air stream he remained behind, trying to keep up as best as she could,  
>"Daryl, what do you mean; '<em>turned to me'<em>? What the hell does that mean?!" Beth prodded him in the shoulder but he didn't stop to turn around.  
>"Nothin'... Just keep up! Don't matter!" His voice was a lot calmer than it had been but his strides were bigger, if anything, "Forget I said nothin'."<p>

(AN I know! I know! It's been a while and I feel terrible! But here you have it! Chapter Sixteen! Thank you guys! Read and Review xx)


	17. The Yellow Brick Road

Chapter Seventeen  
>The Yellow Brick Road<p>

"Hey...I thought they'd be back by now." Carol whispered to a pacing Rick as she lit the candles around the church perimeter. The evening breeze wafted through every crack known in the church and for the first time in a long while, the haven shuddered.  
>"It's only been a week. Just a week. They might'a found somethin'." Rick gnawed on his lip and his eyes frantically darted about the church,<br>"Dad, he wouldn't of let them be this long. It's not right," Carl began, gently rocking baby Judith to a calm state in his arms, "I know it's not like we can do anything but would it hurt to think about it?"  
>"Carl, stay out of it. Your dad's got this." Michonne placed her hand on Carl's shoulder but he was resilient,<br>"No! This run was meant to be three days tops. We're pushing on the seventh day! I know there's not many of us but what we do have- we could go and look for them-"  
>"CARL! No! He has it. They'll be back. Just one more day." Rick fought back which awoke Judith and she started to wriggle uncomfortably in Carl's grip,<br>"Oh, when was the last time you said that? Oh, yeah! Yesterday, and the day before that! C'mon, Dad! We have to try!"  
>For a short while, the church was silent. Carl's comments were ignored, much like Carol's and even Gabriel's. Rick paced faster and furiously looked around for some sort of inspiration. That's when it came. The yelping from the woods. From the trees.<br>"RIIIICK! CARL! SOMEBODY!"  
>It was Beth. It was a frantic Beth.<p>

Darting to the door of the church, the entire group piled out onto the grass, "CAROL! SOMEBODY!" She called out in the dark to the group,  
>"BETH?! BETH, WHERE ARE YOU?!" Rick hollered back and decided to follow her voice far beyond the church. He strutted across the grass, dodging the holes and the pikes that stuck out. His hand was tight on his pistol and his strides were long,<br>"RICK, PLEASE!" She screamed and stumbled into the darkening greenery. She sprinted directly past the holes and into Rick, "Rick, thank God! Rick! Oh, God! RICK, please!" She buckled down and gripped onto Rick's shirt ever so tightly,  
>"Beth, hey! It's okay! What's the matter!? Where's Daryl?!" Rick asked attempting to pull Beth upright. She was shaking like a frightened puppy and the tears flowed freely from her eyes. She refused to answer and so, with the help of Carol, Beth was taken inside.<br>Shaking from the cold and fear, Beth lay in the centre of the church with the remaining blankets around her, her hands nervously rubbing over one another,  
>"SHIT!" Rick called and kicked the door,<br>"I'm so sorry, Rick! I'm sorry!" Beth whimpered from the floor but he turned, not angry. Barely any emotion on his face,  
>"Beth, tell me what happened."<br>"Alright..." Beth quietly said and pushed herself up with help from Gabriel and Michonne.

X X X

_"Daryl, I'm sorry I shouted at you, but you were being such an ass to Noah! And I'm sorry I seem to be annoying you, but we have got to get out of here alive, together, okay?" Beth's harsh words made Daryl turn from the sidewalk,_  
><em>"We don't even know this guy! Why are you wantin' him around?!" Daryl shot back in a hushed tone, <em>  
><em>"He said he knows about a hospital, Daryl! He knows other people-"<em>  
><em>"And what?! For all we know, they're gunnin' for any new comers, Beth!" <em>  
><em>"Don't be so uptight like that... Please, Daryl... We have nothin' yet for the group. It couldn't hurt tryin'..." Beth sighed and leaned against a streetlight, waiting for a reply from Daryl. He scuffed his boots against the pavement and took a wide look around the tall, crowding city they had found themselves in. He then hung his head, thought for a moment and looked over to an exaspirated Beth, <em>  
><em>"Fine... But we are in and out and headin' home by nightfall. Got it?" Daryl moved over to her and watched a smile grow on her face. She nodded excitedly and wrapped her arms around him as a thank you. Daryl sighed and shrugged her off quickly when Noah reappeared with a look of knowledge. He approached the duo with wide eyes and a quizzical air around him, <em>  
><em>"Alright, the hospital itself is a few blocks over. There's a Food Lion just round this corner if you wanna stock up for your trip back?" Noah queried and Daryl huffed in response. <em>  
><em>"That means 'yes, thank-you' in Daryl-talk." Beth smiled at Daryl before quickly glancing over to Noah. Daryl shook his head and picked up his crossbow from the sidewalk where it leaned against the concrete wall of a tall building they had just spent the night in. Beth handed him the small bag they had taken from the church to stock with supplies, but so far, all they had was a bottle of water, some weak painkillers and three band-aids. <em>

_Noah clapped his hands together and rubbed them before turning and leading the way towards the store. Daryl lurked behind Beth slightly before her hand grabbed his and pulled him forward quicker, _  
><em>"Look, we can get Judy some things from here then if the hospital is anything to go by, we can get everything else. Please, try and look at the good side of this," Beth sighed, feeling Daryl's discomfort about extorting themselves further than they should be, "Think about it like this, please; Noah is our missing yellow brick on our broken yellow road. He's leading us to better things."<em>  
><em>"What? That didn't make sense!" Daryl sighed and laughed at Beth's efforts to make things better than what they were. She just groaned and let go of his hand,<em>  
><em>"I'm try'na make it easier to do, for us both. You think I like followin' a stranger in a big city with walkers round every corner? No. So, yes, laugh at my comparison, Daryl. I am tryin', here!" Beth shoved his shoulder and laughed herself when Daryl shook his head again, "Alrigh'! It was a dumb thing to say! What're y' gonna do? Sue me!?" Beth smiled up to Daryl and this time, he pushed her in front gently,<em>  
><em>"Hey, pass me out the smokes-" Daryl began but Beth turned to him, <em>  
><em>"Nuh uh! You're comin' in with us to get stuff for Judy!"<em>  
><em>"I don' know the first thing 'bout babies, so, my smokes, please?" He smiled politely back and fluttered his eyelashes for a second or two. Beth rolled her eyes and handed Daryl a single cigarette from the packet in her front pocket, "Y'know, y' can gimme them back. I'm no chain-smoker."<em>  
><em>"Nope. You went through four in five minutes last night. No. It'll kill you." Beth sighed before letting a small laugh out, <em>  
><em>"Beth. For Christ's sake; look around. We're dead in the water!" Daryl threw his head back with a small laugh with the cigarette hanging from his bottom lip, "Can I get a match?" He asked. <em>  
><em>Beth stopped them at the corner of the street and pulled the box of matched from Daryl's pack, scratching one of them quickly against the side of the box. She held the flickering match in front of him, "Wanna light it or what?" chuckled Daryl. Beth gave him a look, a stern but loving look, before eventually lighting his cigarette. The match was tossed aside and it burnt out when they started to walk again. <em>  
><em>"Daryl, will you ever tell me about Lori? Well, about that day? What you meant?" Beth pressed on gently as Daryl puffed away when they strolled down the street behind Noah. He was quiet and it was only as Beth started to enter the store with Noah that he spoke. <em>  
><em>Scraping his cigarette against the wall of the store, he smiled at her and handed over his empty pack as she held the door open for herself. Through the glass, he continued to smile at her and it had been the longest time that Beth had seen such a gleam in his eyes when he spoke, "I 'unno. If we get out alive, 'suppose so."<em>

_Happily, Beth moved around the store, pulling together what she could find for Judith and wondering about Daryl's cryptic conversation killer. Occassionally, Beth would glance up and out to Daryl who would be kicking around the sidewalk with his bow down at his side. His hair would often cover up his face but sometimes, if she timed it right, she would be able to see both of his eyes. Both completely glazed over in thought and worry. Then it struck. The direct contact with the hood of the car and his indent into the windshield. He was thrown over and it was then, Noah dragged Beth to the darkest corner of the store, hushing her and keeping her quiet. Through the one glass pane, Daryl lay lifeless against the sidewalk, his body battered and scratched up. There was blood and there was lots of it. Beth immediately felt her stomach jolt into her throat and she gagged in shock. Noah incessently whispered to her about what had happened and who had done it but it was white noise. Her throat ached to scream but nothing would escape but a gurgled yelp. When the card sped away with Daryl in the back seat, Noah got to his feet and immediately dropped his bag and his weapons, "I'll go and get your friend. I know where they're taking him. Can you get people?" Noah asked, cracking his knuckles waiting for Beth to reply. Stunned, she nodded and looked up at him, "I'll stay with him. I know where he's going. It's where I ran away from." And with that, Noah was sprinting out the door and down the street after the car._

X X X

"So I ran back. I didn't know what else to do!" Beth clutched a mug of hot water in her hands. Rick stood from his squatting position and done a quick walk around of the church before returning to Beth,  
>"Alrigh'...We'll go. Tomorrow. Rest as much as you can. You'll need it." Rick said to her sternly and she nodded. Rick left her to be alone with her thoughts and Michonne for company.<br>"I thought it couldn't get any worse." Beth sighed and placed down her mug beside Michonne and turned away before any conversation could be started. As Beth attempted to make herself comfortable, an uncomfortable feeling pushed at her hip. She groaned and pulled her jeans up, hoping it would solve her problem. But no. Beth took her hand and felt around in the pocket, only to pull out the crumpled packet of cigarettes which would lie beside her head all night, protected by her hand.

(AN/ I loved writing this chapter. I hope you guys liked reading it! Read and Review! I love you guys!xx)


	18. Hair of the Dog

Chapter Eighteen  
>Hair of the Dog<p>

_In the smokiest dive bar in all of Georgia, with the lowest country songs on repeat on the jukebox in the corner, Daryl Dixon nursed a Jim Beam with his older brother, Merle, at one of the stickiest, dried up pine tables from all around. "Y'sure y'should be drinkin'? After... Y'know?" He questioned to Merle who was knockin' 'em back like glasses of water. He shrugged, the way he always did and ordered another, _  
><em>"Well, they don't work like they used to, brother, where I am. They don' give y' that MMMH! Y'know?" Merle laughed and kicked back in his chair, pulling out a pack of smokes and tossing them carelessly onto the table where they hit against Daryl's short glass. <em>  
><em>"W-Where 're y' now?" Daryl asked lightly, shying away when he felt his brother's eyes fall on him. Merle's laughter and smile fell away to a stern look when he leaned forward, right into Daryl's face. <em>  
><em>"I ain't nowhere. I'm left rottin' in that place... There ain't nothin' after this." He quietly said to his younger brother as he took a cigarette from the pack. Daryl sat in silence, his fingers fraying the corner of a cardboard beer-mat.<em>  
><em>"Merle, shut up! You talk some amount of shit!"The familiar voice shot back from the other side of Daryl. <em>  
><em>"HEY! I'll kick you back into livin', you li'l bitch!" Merle argued and leaned away from his brother now puffing away happily with a grin on his face, <em>  
><em>"Come on! Try me! I dare you! Come around this table right now and kick me into livin'!" She shot back to him and threw a beer-mat at his face, hitting just above his eyebrow before falling onto his belly. Daryl moved further into his chair and left his hands out on the table, his fingers moving from the mat to the cold glass, "Look at you. He pumpin' you with whisky and you ain't even fully dead."<em>  
><em>"I'm showing him a good time, bitch. I ain't bein' whimsical. I ain't floating around the damn subject like you've been this whole time!" Merle flicked his cigarette ash into his empty glass, watching his sister so carefully around his baby brother. <em>  
><em>"Well, you have your priorities and I got mine. Unlike you, I'm actually here to help Daryl."<em>  
><em>"What the hell does Doctor Phil want with a damn bar?!" Merle chuckled heartily to himself and clapped his hands slowly, watching the growing frustration in his sister's face. <em>  
><em>"Stop fightin'. Stop it. Damn, stop. Stop." Daryl immediately said, clenching his fist and slamming it onto the table. <em>

_Vivian laughed and pushed herself from her seat, "We ain't fightin'!" She stood behind Merle and wrapped her arms around him, "We're jus' catchin' up, ain't we, big brother?!"_  
><em>They both laughed together happily before Viv moved back around to Daryl, putting her hand on top of his. She took her other hand and brushed the hair out of his face, talking gently to him, "What do you want?"<em>  
><em>"I don't know what's goin' on. What's goin' on?" Daryl looked to her and then to Merle with the saddest blue eyes, "What's goin' on?"<em>  
><em>"You gotta decide, baby brother! You come with us or you go back to Rick," Merle started, moving closer to Daryl so that the three of them focussed on the glass of whisky in the middle of Daryl's hands, <em>  
><em>"Before; we'd tell you to go back or come with us. But, honestly, you're fucked up so much that it's your decision... I know it's hard to understand but you have the choice." Vivian pressed her forehead to Daryl's shoulders and Merle patted his other shoulder comfortingly.<em>  
><em>Daryl sat and thought for a short while. He weighed up his options and pushed his drink away from him, <em>  
><em>"I wanna stay here. Wherever you are. With you." Daryl sighed and looked to his sister who was praying for the opposite, "Why you lookin' like that? You don't want me here or somethin'?" And he looked to Merle who had the same look in his eyes, only stronger and colder. They were both silent and Daryl pushed his glass even further away from him, eventually standing and walking to the hazed over window, "Why d'ya want me out there survivin' for nothin'?! There's nothin' back there! I ain't gettin' outta this alive and you both know it! Let me stay here! Let me come with you!"<em>  
><em>"Daryl , if you choose here, there's no goin' back. You have a choice to live and see everything get better! You have a choice to help people again! To be there for people and save people, Daryl! Damn it, you could live to be something! You could be an old man on a damn porch swing if you wanted to!"Vivan went to him and took the newly applied cigarette from his mouth. It was tossed to the side and her hands rested on his shoulders, "you'll be like this... comatose, for a couple 'days. Think about it. Don't throw it all away because your damn brother gave you a welcome-home drink. Sleep on it. It's all you can do."<em>  
><em>Daryl's eyes watered and he looked at Merle who was agreeing with everything that had been said. His lip trembled and he turned back to Vivian who gently brushed at the stubble on his jaw, "I don't wanna leave... I miss you-"<em>  
><em>"I know..." Merle sighed from the table, "We know."<em>

"Alright, Beth. You know where they are. You're the smallest and probably the quietest. If you can get in, find them both, and get out- we'll do the rest. We'll spot you." Rick stated as they all huddled together in the centre of the deserted car park. Beth nodded and dropped her cardigan and bracelets to the floor,  
>"I'll try and be as fast as I can-"<br>"If you're in too long, we'll go in after you. So don't worry." Tyreese patted the small woman's shoulder and Rick gave her a tight squeeze of a hug,  
>"It'll be fine. We'll come out fine." Beth reassured herself and the others, pulling from Rick to be on her way. He gave her a nod just before she crossed the street and into the tall shadows of the buildings.<br>She sloped in and out of crevices. In and out of gloomy shadows until she could hear the groaning of walkers all around her. She armed herself with a small pocket knife and tried her best to breathe slowly and steadily as she started to climb up to the drastic streak of light a few feet above her. She grunted quietly and gripped her knife in between her teeth as her nimble fingers carried her heavenward. The noises of groaning ceased but the buzz of conversation built up the closer she came. Luckily it was quiet and she pulled herself up into what seemed to be a janitor's cupboard. Beth brushed off her jeans and pulled her shirt before taking the knife from her hand and slowly moving towards the small grey door of the closet.  
>"I'm goin' for lunch! Dawn, I done my round! I'll be back in an hour!" A broad voice bellowed down the corridors.<br>"Alrighty! Make sure that the patrol car is doin' it's full circuit before you eat, alright?! Can't have any other loosies lyin' around the street like that damn biker in thirteen!"  
>Beth grit her teeth when the doors slammed shut and the conversation faded. Thirteen. That's where to go first. Gently, her fingers pressed down on the handle and she was out in the open. Knife by her side as she glanced around the nurses station for documents on Daryl. There was nothing but lint and empty cans of soda. She looked around for room numbers and luckily, there was one room door open. Beth gripped her knife and slowly glided over, sticking to the wal immediately like something out of a Bond film. She readied herself before sliding in behind the door making sure nobody would ever know. There were sounds of boots squeaking on linoleum and whistling echoing through the corridors. Beth covered her mouth to hush her breathing when the boots halted by the door,<br>"Decent man like you shouldn't be out in the open..." The man chuckled and swung the door closed, Beth now exposed fully in the room. Her eyes fell upon the man linked up to almost every machine possible. His bruised and beaten body lay beneath the thin sheets and his tattoos shot out clearly to Beth.

Gently, Beth walked over to his bedside and placed her hand on his sheathed foot. "Oh, Daryl..." She sighed and her other hand crumpled into a tight fist around her knife, "I'm so sorry this happened to you... I'm so sorry!" Beth whispered and took her hand from his foot and watched as the machines breathed for him, "You were meant to be the last man standing. That was _your_ job! You can't leave me now! I won't let you, Daryl Dixon, I won't!" Beth wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffed quietly before taking his ice cold hand into hers, "Daryl, if you can hear me, you listen to me; you are not going to die here like this. Not in this bed or anywhere near this damn city, y'hear me?! I won't let that happen to you!" She paused to wipe her eyes once again and clear her throat from the heavy rock that lay in her chest, "You're too good for that... Hey! Rick's waitin' for you! An-And Glenn is waitin' back at the church with Carl! They're waitin' for you. Just you..." Beth stopped when the squeak of boots came again. She stopped her breathing and moved back to her place behind the door, her eyes not moving from Daryl's lifeless body. The door creaked open with a blur of conversation following,  
>"Yeah, he was checked five minutes ago. He's still here, Dawn. Hasn't moved since you hit him..."<br>"Well, leave him for now. Shut that door and get back to the elevator shaft. You're needed." The woman demanded and the door was closed and locked shut. Beth sighed heavily and peered through the crooked window blinds to see the duo strutting off together again with their hands at their belts.  
>"Shit!" Beth sighed and pulled at the door handle before dashing to the window and opening the curtains. Her eyes frantically searched for Rick but he was nowhere to be seen. She shaded her eyes and looked further from the grimy window to the top of the car park. Sasha. Sasha was there with a fully loaded sniper. Manically, Beth waved and gestured hoping to catch the wavering gaze of Sasha and Tyreese. From what Beth could see, Tyreese alerted his sister and they had both locked on to the level and the room Beth and Daryl were in. Sasha gave a nod and Beth turned back to Daryl. She gently pushed a machine aside to stand by his head which she gently touched. Her slim fingers combed his hair out of his swollen and broken face and she placed her other hand over the space of his heart trying to feel what might have been left, "Daryl, they're coming for you. Alright? They are coming to save you. You're getting out of 're coming back. You're coming back to Rick a-a-and Judy and Michonne... Y-you're gonna come back to <em>me<em>. I need you, Daryl. I need my best friend back. And I'll never forgive myself that this happened to you because of me... If I hadn't stormed off so quick or if we hadn't left the church in the first place..." Beth hung her head in sobs, her tears falling onto his scarred and bruised arm, "Daryl, I need you to wake up, okay? Please... If you won't wake up for me, do it for Rick. Please, Daryl, please!" Beth's voice turned hoarse and into a cough as her head rested down on his arm. Her body shivvered with sadness and what remained of her voice, rasped out a quiet and barely-there, "Please... 'love you."

_(AN/ Oh, guys! I'm sorry it's been a while. I've been trying to wrap my head around the mid-season finale. After looking at all the different theories that people had on Tumblr, I was filled with more hope than ever and I returned to continue this fic for you all! I hope you like it! Read and Review!xx)_


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